‘What’s the worst that can happen?’: Harry Kane reveals Thomas Tuchel’s half-time rallying cry in England’s Croatia win

FootballSports
18 Jun 2026 • 4:10 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

‘What’s the worst that can happen?’: Harry Kane reveals Thomas Tuchel’s half-time rallying cry in England’s Croatia win

Harry Kane has revealed what England manager Thomas Tuchel said in the half time pep talk against Croatia.

England stormed to a 4-2 victory over Croatia in their opening World Cup 2026 match in Dallas on Wednesday (17 June) after Tuchel’s half-time speech inspired the Three Lions to a thumping win.

Kane, who scored two goals and therefore equalled Gary Lineker's World Cup scoring record, revealed Tuchel gave “a great speech to be honest,” telling the team to “let the shackles off” and “calm down” after a shaky first half.

He added: “He kind of just said, ‘What's the worst that can happen? We lose a match, first group game. We get on with it, we move on. Let's just go and, and show kind of the world who we can be.’”