“Tuchel has given them an absolute rocket at half-time, they were blasted,” said Sky Sports’ Gary Neville on ITV. “It was a really good second half. Some of the things they did in the first 10 minutes of the second half were fantastic.”
Ten minutes of football that could shape England's World Cup? That is how the start of the second half felt as Thomas Tuchel's England team announced themselves. "The team that we wanted to be was shown in the second half," said Jude Bellingham afterwards.
Bellingham's 47th-minute goal began the onslaught that restored England's lead in their 4-2 win over Croatia. But Dominik Livakovic, the Croatia goalkeeper, made seven further saves in the dozen minutes that followed just to keep his side in it. All to no avail.
It was carnage, really. There was a triple save to keep out Nico O'Reilly, Anthony Gordon and Ezri Konsa before a double stop from Harry Kane. All that came in just 85 seconds. For context, most teams at this World Cup have not had five shots on target in total.
In all, when O'Reilly's header that went wide was included, it was nine shots in 12 minutes. Eleven shots on target in the match, bettered only by Germany against Curacao so far. But this was Croatia. Second at the World Cup in 2018. Third in 2022. Utterly overwhelmed.
There were shaky moments too, defensive concerns that will need to be addressed if England are to achieve their dreams this summer. There was a tentativeness to their first-half display. But the response suggests Thomas Tuchel knows just what is needed.
His assistant Anthony Barry made that explicit in a surprisingly open interview with ITV at half-time. He talked of it being confused, of "fearful patterns" in their play and a "nervous energy" that had inhibited England. We have all seen that at major tournaments.
What we have seen less of is the football that left Croatia in disarray immediately afterwards. "We saw that in the way we came out in the second half. We went full gas and they could not live with it," said Kane. That it worked should encourage this England team.
Other teams have scored four goals and more already at this tournament. But those have been bagged against Paraguay and Curacao, Tunisia and Iraq. Doing it against Croatia is different and the intensity with which England played would worry anyone.
Can they maintain that? Can they use it as a template, maybe even a turning point? There will be challenges in delivering that intensity. Undoubtedly, it will have helped that the stadium in Dallas was air-conditioned, the game played at optimum temperatures.
In the heat of the day, it will be difficult. Against teams that can withstand England's pressing and their physicality rather better than the ageing Luka Modric, that high-tempo game might not be quite so effective. The power-plays may have to come in bursts.
But the fact that England appear capable of it is massive.
Crucially, Kane looks sharp. He scored the first two goals, a penalty and a header, and had seven shots in total. Tellingly, he was still tracking back to make tackles in stoppage-time, a clear indication that his fitness levels are where they need to be right now.
Two summers ago, Kane endured a difficult tournament for England at Euro 2024. That campaign culminated in him being hooked for Ollie Watkins after an hour of the final, forced to watch from the bench as Gareth Southgate's reign played out against Spain.
"Physically, it has been a tough period for Harry," explained Southgate afterwards. "He came in short of games and did not quite get up to the level we had all hope. We felt Ollie's freshness would allow us to press a bit better and offer us a threat in behind."
There is no doubt that this England system suits Kane better now. In the insipid showing against Slovakia, Kane had Phil Foden out of position on the wing. But the striker-cum-playmaker always looks more comfortable when he can drop deep and ping passes.
Noni Madueke provided that outlet, receiving twice as many of Kane's passes as anyone else, including a beauty after a quarter of an hour. With Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka making an impact off the bench, there is the potential to rotate the wing options.
But the key figures for England at this World Cup are obvious. "Jude Bellingham is the top player," said Neville. "He and Kane in attack are the difference." The job of the manager is to build a team that gets the best from them. Tuchel might be able to do it.
And his half-time words in Dallas might just have persuaded his players that he has the answers too. Asked what was said in the dressing room during that break, Declan Rice said: "It was one of those moments when you are like, 'wow, what a great manager'."
A long way to go, of course. But if England are to do something special at this World Cup then when the stories of that success are told, pivotal moments will be picked out. Half-time against Croatia and the performance that followed already feels like one of them.
