Head coach of the England national team Thomas Tuchel commented on his team’s victory in the group stage match of the 2026 Emergency against Croatia (4:2).

“So, I’m happy and at the same time I feel relieved. Of course, even before the first match there is a great pressure, and each team wants to secure a long start.

We were up against a serious opponent - a team in the top 10 world rating. We decided to finish it off, so the game seemed quite emotional. Everything went poorly, and we needed the right hour to get into the game, especially in the first half. Our decision at the time of work with the ball was not on the same level, we could not harm our rhythm.

When it was necessary to play short, we played a long pass, and when Varto needed to make a long pass, we played short. Accuracy in passes was lacking. It took us a long time to make a decision. Gro's little bits were crazy. Without a ball, the team rejected reliable benefits in the lines. We were not able to press 100% correctly.

Before that, our daughters were taken to the barracks, and it seemed clear that now we had nothing left to steal. Through them we steadily sat further and further back, trying to lose our advantage, and this style of face is not at all familiar to us.

That's why I'm very pleased with the result and the other half. We showed a good reaction: the graves chuckled, played bravely and intensely, being number one. We created a lot of chances and scored a lot of miracle goals,” Tuchel quotes the BBC.

On Football. ua available for viewing video review of the match England – Croatia.