Thomas Tuchel admits his first experience of England’s national anthem at the World Cup was ‘ruined’ after his side’s 4-2 win over Croatia.
A double from Harry Kane, plus second-half goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford, sealed the victory for England at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Wednesday.
However, Tuchel was unhappy moments before the game kicked off as a scrum of photographers stood just a few metres away from England’s bench to capture the German’s reaction as the national anthem played.
Tuchel, who has said he may sing God Save the King if England reach the World Cup final this summer, was unhappy that he could not see how his squad experienced the moment on the pitch.
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‘I have to tell you something, I am begging FIFA to change the position of the photographers in the national anthem because I could not see my team in the national anthem,’ Tuchel said.
‘I was waiting for this moment. It was a very, very special moment today and I was standing in front of a wall of 50 photographers, half a metre away, and I could not see one single player and it ruined a little bit my experience today.
‘It is very emotional. When I was young and when I started coaching, this was too big to dream of to have this kind of career.’
Meanwhile, Tuchel praised the reaction of his England players for their positive approach to the second half after Croatia had scored a second equaliser moments before the break.
‘I loved the second half. All of it. I loved the reaction to a very complicated first half,’ Tuchel said.
‘We played against a top opponent. I think we showed a bit of nerves. Maybe we waned to do overdo it, but we clearly overthought our decisions.
‘We encouraged them to go for it, to play with more courage, to be brave, to be ourselves and, like I said, I loved the reaction.
‘We created a lot of chances, we had a lot of ball wins, we scored goals and overall I think we deserve to win.
‘There are still things to improve. I think this is also quite normal after a first match. You need to grow into a tournament.
‘We got a tough draw to start against Croatia, so the positives are clearly the ones where we focus on now and enjoy the moment. We have enough days to adjust what needs to be improved.’
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