'Show the world!' - Harry Kane reveals details of Thomas Tuchel's half-time speech that inspired England's World Cup win over Croatia

England began their 2026 World Cup campaign with an impressive victory over Croatia after transforming their performance in the second half. The Three Lions were locked in an entertaining contest before the interval, with Croatia twice cancelling out England's advantage.

Kane had matched Gary Lineker's England World Cup goals record through a penalty and a header from Declan Rice's corner, but the sides went into the break level. England found another gear after half-time. Jude Bellingham restored their lead before Marcus Rashford came off the bench to seal a 4-2 victory.

Kane then revealed the reason for the Three Lions' second-half comeback, admitting that Tuchel's speech had lifted the players' spirits. Kane stressed that Tuchel urged his players to play with freedom and confidence after a nervous first-half display.

"He told us to take the shackles off, calm down and let’s go. He said what’s the worst that can happen? Show the world who we can be," Kane said after the game.

"We came out in the second half full gas and they couldn’t live with it, and that’s the level we have to set in every game. The way we controlled the game once we went ahead, we never really looked like we were in danger and then scored on the counterattack. We had a spell where we could have scored three or four. Credit to everyone: the first game of the tournament and a great result against a tough side."

Bellingham echoed Kane's assessment of the dressing room atmosphere under Tuchel, insisting the team didn't need the dramatic things that happened within the squad during the break.

He said: "It wasn’t one of those where it was a big drama or standing up and shouting; it was what the team needed. We have a mature group with great leaders in there; everyone knew the level we had to get to. The start of the second half gave us a great platform."

This victory puts England at the top of Group L with three points. Kane and his teammates will next face Ghana at Boston Stadium on June 23, with the striker once again expected to lead the Three Lions' attack to victory.