England fans notice the clever strategy that helped them take charge of the game against Croatia
Fans have figured out who really deserves the credit for England taking the lead again in their World Cup match against Croatia.
After nearly a week full of World Cup excitement, everyone was watching at Dallas Stadium as England kicked off their campaign with a big game versus Croatia.
It didn’t take long for the Three Lions to score. Captain Harry Kane scored a penalty on his second try after a foul by Luka Modrić caused the first shot to be retaken. Kane’s first penalty was saved by Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković, but VAR showed that Manchester City’s Joško Gvardiol had entered the penalty area too early and that Livaković had left his line early too, so Kane got a second chance.
The first half was wild, with Kane scoring again for England, but Croatian forwards Martin Baturina and Petar Musa also scored, making it 2-2 at halftime.
During the break, it was clear that England needed a strong start to take control in the second half. That’s exactly what happened when Jude Bellingham scored just two minutes after the restart.
But many England fans don’t think Bellingham deserves all the praise for that early goal. Lots of fans took to social media to shout out England’s assistant manager Anthony Barry.
During halftime, Barry told ITV that the first half was “complicated and confusing” and criticized the team’s decision-making. He said, “We were going long when we should be going short, and going short when we should be going long.”
Fans guessed that after his honest comments on TV, Barry probably gave a much tougher talk in the dressing room. One fan wrote, “Thought Anthony Barry spoke really well at halftime. Seems like they got a proper telling off, and it worked.” Another said, “Looking forward to more Anthony Barry halftime interviews if he keeps speaking so freely – it clearly helped the players.”
Even former England defender Jamie Carragher agreed, suggesting Barry might be the man of the match thanks to his halftime talk. Writing for The Telegraph, Carragher said, “Anthony Barry might end up being man of the match for his halftime comments. He was spot on.” He added, “England’s second half has been brilliant – much quicker and with more purpose. Still curious about how we’re approaching the tournament, though. This is the best game so far.”
It wasn’t just Barry who got praise after England’s early second-half goal – manager Thomas Tuchel also earned credit for the passion he showed at the restart. ITV’s Gabriel Clarke pointed out that Tuchel didn’t sit down during the halftime break. Instead, he stayed on the touchline, directing the team and suggesting tactical changes.