Harry Kane credits Thomas Tuchel's 'winning message' for England's World Cup victory over Croatia

The England captain was central to the victory and was named "Man of the Match" for his outstanding display in a chaotic contest in Texas. Kane scored twice in the first half, including a retaken penalty, as England built an early advantage before Croatia responded with two goals to make it 2-2 at the break.

England's performance changed completely after the interval, with Tuchel's words helping the team play with greater freedom and confidence. Jude Bellingham quickly restored England's lead with a composed finish before substitute Marcus Rashford completed the scoring to secure three points.

Kane revealed that Tuchel challenged the players to be more positive after a difficult opening 45 minutes.

"He gave a great speech, especially after the way we conceded the second goal just before half-time," Kane said.

"He told us to let the shackles off, calm down and asked what we were scared of. He said, 'Let's just go and show the world who we can be.'

"I think we did exactly that in the second half."

Despite the victory, Tuchel admitted England were too cautious before the break and struggled to find their attacking rhythm.

"I felt a bit nervy," the England manager said. "The decisions we took were basically choosing to go safe and play too many balls backwards. We didn't have the confidence to go through the gaps and find the rhythm."

However, the German coach was delighted with his players' reaction after half-time and praised their attacking improvement.

"I loved the reaction of the players into the second half. The second half was excellent," Tuchel said. "We deserved to win, but it was emotional, a lot of emotions involved and it took us a while to get going."

England will now aim to continue their strong start when they face Ghana in their next Group L match on 23 June at Boston Stadium.