Thomas Tuchel says rout in Rijeka can help heal England’s World Cup wounds
England boss Thomas Tuchel believes the 7-0 hammering of Croatia can help heal the wounds of the World Cup.
Tuchel’s side dismantled their familiar opponents in the Nations League clash in Rijeka, with a rampant front four of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon making hay.
It was the sort of attacking performance that England fans were longing for in the summer, with the pain of the semi-final defeat to Argentina still raw.
But Tuchel said the manner of the display can point towards a brighter future as he said: “This is the only way to move forward, even if you still feel pain.
“You have to play with the pain if you still feel the disappointment, you have to play with it, that is the nature of sport.
“It was not an easy camp in the beginning after this long tournament for multiple reasons.
“But straight away, the first training session on Tuesday, the build-up to the Spain game, we had an excellent performance against Spain but not the result [losing 3-2], the reaction to the result in Czechia [winning 2-0] and now the build-up [here].
“The focus in the meetings, the translation of the meetings onto the pitch and to bring it within these circumstances in Croatia, to win with this dominant performance, that is the way to move on.
“I’ve said many times, we will always have a scar, we will always feel pain and disappointment. That is the way it is but this is the way to move forward.
“We adjusted some stuff after some things after the World Cup and we played in the same manner in all three matches. We are getting better at it and the team buys into it, this is the most important.”
England were irresistible as they inflicted a biggest ever defeat on Croatia, described by Tuchel as a ‘complete’ performance.
Kane and Saka both scored twice and got an assist, Bellingham notched one and made three others, while Gordon scored one and created another. Substitute Morgan Rogers added a late seventh.
Bellingham was the standout player with another virtuoso performance and Tuchel admitted: “At the moment, it seems like [he’s gone to another level] and you always need to.
“The level you showed last week is never enough in the next week, that’s just the nature of football.
“You can never stand still, If you stand still, it is like (being) on an escalator, If you walk against it, you have to walk to even maintain your level.
“You have to push for the next level, otherwise other teams will catch up. That’s why it is always necessary to reach for the next level.
“It was a fantastic victory, the performance was on the highest level from the first to last minute.
“The hunger off the ball was the very highest level. I’m very happy about the attitude. We were never arrogant, always humble. It was a complete 90-minute performance.”
Croatia are a far cry from the golden generation which saw them reach the 2018 World Cup final and semi-final four years later.
Slaven Bilic said: “I cannot offer any excuses. England were too good for us. We were not up to the level.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub