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Thomas Tuchel wanted to bring some Premier League style to the England national team. Boy did he achieve that aim. His first tournament game was everything we have come to expect from club soccer's biggest domestic competition. Set piece duels. Energy everywhere all at once. Ludicrous twists.
Perhaps the only un-Prem aspect to this game was that the English won. Ultimately they did so in style, captain Harry Kane netting a brace, Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford the others in a 4-2 win over Croatia. It had been occasionally sloppy, frequently thrilling and ultimately rather effective. On expected goals this was a paddling even when you sub out 0.79 from a retaken Kane penalty. For the most part – a clumsy first half out of possession is anything but a hallmark of this Champions League-winning manager -- this was England as Tuchel wanted them.
By the back end of Gareth Southgate's tenure, this had become a team intent on jamming every star they could find onto the pitch. It did not matter that they all wanted to occupy the exact same area off the nominal center forward. Let them figure it out on the pitch.
That could never be Tuchel's England. They had a game plan and it did not necessarily involve the sort of patient build up and possession hoarding that their public consider a prerequisite for tournament success. If the pass was on for Noni Madueke down the right, they were going to play it again and again.
That breakneck pace frequently discombobulated Luka Modric, who for two decades has been tormenting this England side. Today he suffered more than most. His pocket was picked by the excellent Elliot Anderson to kickstart a move that resulted in an England set piece. Modric was the one who attempted to lackadaisically clear the corner, swinging at Madueke rather than the ball and conceding a penalty.
Kane's first set piece was blasé, his stutter step robbing him of the ability to drill the ball right into the corner as he would for the second effort. Fortunately for England Josko Gvardiol had encroached, Dominik Livakovic had sprung off his line and Clement Turpin allowed Kane a second go.
The corner from which England won the penalty would not be the last time their set pieces caused nightmares for Croatia. Tuchel had bristled at the implementation of new grappling rules on the eve of the tournament that threatened to rob the Three Lions of their threatening deliveries into the six-yard box. No matter, Declan Rice could simply drop one on Kane's head instead.
From live and dead-ball attacks, England looked a threat. The issues were at the other end of the pitch. Too often, when they took the lead they did that very English thing of dropping off and letting the other team play in front of them. That is rarely a good idea with technicians as fine as Croatians.
For their first a slipped pass found Petar Sucic in the area, his instinctive turn sending bodies flying before he spotted Martin Baturina on the approach and teed the Como midfielder up for a piledriver.
That first equalizer would soon be washed away by Kane's second, but Croatia kept finding space to score brilliant goals. Mario Pasalic's clipped ball over the top found a just onside Ivan Perisic for a first-time lay off to Petar Musa. The FC Dallas man might not have been on his home ground but he looked so at ease he might have been in slippers as he rolled the ball through the legs of Jordan Pickford.
England were riled. They had probably had the better of the half, they certainly would have had they not made such sloppy errors. Speaking to British television at the interval, assistant manager Anthony Barry seemed less than impressed with a "confusing" performance so far. His side kept Croatia waiting before taking to the field and doing so with clarity of purpose. Jude Bellingham drove forward and kept on going, holding off Mario Pasalic before his low shot flew past Livakovic.
This time, England wanted more. That they didn't get any was more a reflection of the excellence of Croatia's goalkeeper, a triple save off another dangerous set piece coming a minute before he denied Kane twice.
It would take the emptying of the England bench to kill this game off, Bukayo Saka gliding up the right like his Achilles issue was a thing of the past. Fellow substitutes Morgan Rogers and Djed Spence offered support before Arsenal's star boy carried the ball forward, holding possession until the right moment to square for Rashford to roll home. England's fresh legs had overwhelmed their veteran opposition.
That's the thing about those Premier League teams. They can afford to stock their bench with superstars. How can anyone but the very best afford to compete with England's big bucks?
