Roy Keane has accused England’s players of overreacting to Thomas Tuchel’s half-time team talk after the German masterminded a thrilling 4-2 victory over Croatia at the World Cup.
England looked vulnerable during a frantic opening 45 minutes on Wednesday night, with Harry Kane twice putting the Three Lions ahead only for Croatia to respond on both occasions and send the contest into the break level at 2-2.
But the match swung dramatically in England’s favour after the interval.
Jude Bellingham restored his side’s advantage within seconds of the restart and Tuchel’s men continued to pile forward in search of more goals, with Marcus Rashford eventually sealing an impressive victory five minutes from time.
Several England stars pointed to Tuchel’s dressing-room intervention as the catalyst for the turnaround, but former Manchester United captain Keane believes the praise directed at the manager has gone too far.
“Is it a bit of an overreaction to his half-time team talk?” Keane said on ITV.
“What’s he supposed to do? That is his job isn’t it?
“That’s the manager’s job to give them the information and they go out and produce.
Roy Keane has accused England’s players of overreacting to Thomas Tuchel’s half-time team talk after the German masterminded a thrilling 4-2 victory over Croatia at the World Cup
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ITV
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham struck as England soared past Croatia in their World Cup opener | GETTY
“That’s what any top manager will do, you get them at half-time and you remind them what they’re supposed to be doing. It’s a bit over the top.”
Keane, who played under the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, added that every dressing room scenario requires a different approach and suggested Tuchel merely judged the mood correctly.
“Every game’s different and every situation is different,” he said.
“I’ve worked with some great managers.
Match stats from England’s win over Croatia at the World Cup | GETTY/GB NEWS
“Sometimes you go in at half-time and you think you’re going to get a hard time and they go easy on you, sometimes you think you’re doing well and they go hard on you.
“It’s what you smell in the game, what he thinks the players need. He’s well qualified to do that.”
England captain Kane was among those eager to credit Tuchel after the final whistle, revealing the manager urged his players to continue playing with freedom despite the risk of defeat.
“Credit to the manager,” Kane said.
“The manager gave us a speech at halftime just to say, ‘Look, if we lose, we lose in our way.’
“I think you saw that in the second half, we went full gas and they could not live with it.
“That’s the level we have to set for every game, credit to everyone, first game of the tournament and a great result against a tough side.”
Declan Rice also praised Tuchel’s impact, admitting the German’s words had an immediate calming effect on the squad.
Harry Kane hailed Thomas Tuchel after England’s win over Croatia
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“He was top at half time, the words he used, settled everyone,” Rice explained.
“I can’t say too much, it was one of those moments where you are like ‘Wow, what a top manager’.
“I think we went out second half and everyone was relaxed and we just went for it.”
Tuchel later disclosed the message he delivered to his players, insisting he wanted them to stop worrying about protecting a result and instead commit to the attacking style they had worked on throughout their 17 days together.
“I said even if we lose, it will not change my perception of the last 17 days. But let’s do it our way,” Tuchel said.
“We’re too focused on the result, too focused on protecting what we anyway don’t have at the moment.
“If something happens, the result doesn’t go our way, we want to play this match the way we want to and the way we were together for 17 days. I just tried to encourage them to go for it.”
England return to action against Ghana on Tuesday (9pm).
