Thomas Tuchel got into a heated argument with an England player just minutes into the Croatia game.
During England’s World Cup opener against Croatia, Thomas Tuchel was caught having a heated chat with one of his players.
After nearly a week of matches, England finally kicked off their tournament at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas. For his first game as England’s manager, Tuchel picked a starting lineup that wasn’t surprising, especially since the team sheet had leaked before the match.
The new boss’s choices seemed spot on as England took the lead just 12 minutes in. Captain Harry Kane scored after getting a second chance on a penalty, which was originally saved but then retaken because of a VAR check showing a Croatian player was offside and the goalkeeper off his line. Kane calmly scored the penalty and later netted a second goal just before halftime.
Croatia fought back with a beautiful goal from Martin Baturina to equalize, and right before the break, Petar Musa scored to put Croatia ahead.
It was clear Tuchel wasn’t happy during the first half. At the hydration break, Fox’s sideline reporter Geoff Shreeves overheard Tuchel arguing with England’s goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford. The manager was upset because Pickford didn’t follow his instructions on passing out from the back. Pickford seemed off balance and passed the ball the wrong way, prompting Tuchel to say, “Do as I told you.” Pickford replied, but what he said wasn’t clear.
Though Tuchel was annoyed, his assistant Anthony Barry was even angrier. Speaking to ITV at halftime, Barry called the first half “complicated and confusing” and criticized the team’s decision-making. “We were going long when we should be going short, and going short when we should be going long,” he said.