Tuchel begs Fifa to move photographers after anthem moment 'ruined' in England's World Cup opener

Thomas Tuchel emerged from England’s 4-2 World Cup opening victory over Croatia at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington with a personal grievance: a mass of photographers had blocked his view of his players during ‘God Save The King’, and he wants Fifa to fix it.

“I am begging Fifa to change the position of the photographers in the national anthem because I could not see my team,” Tuchel said after the match. “I was standing in front of a wall of 50 photographers, half a metre away, and I could not see one single player. It ruined a little bit my experience.”

The England manager had spoken before kick-off about how significant the moment would be, describing the occasion as something that had once felt “too big to dream of” when he was starting out in coaching. The reality, he said, fell short through no fault of his players.

“It was a very, very special moment today,” he added. “It is very emotional.”

On the question of whether he might one day sing the anthem himself, Tuchel was characteristically candid. “I think we are not there yet. At the very end maybe. I am still a bit shy. I don’t want to offend people.”

On the pitch, England recovered from a shaky second-half spell to claim a convincing win. Harry Kane scored twice in the first half to give the Three Lions a 2-0 lead, but Croatia hit back through Martin Baturina and Petar Musa to level before the break. Tuchel’s half-time intervention proved decisive: Jude Bellingham restored England’s advantage two minutes into the second half, and Marcus Rashford sealed the result late on as a substitute.

Kane’s brace puts him immediately in contention for the Golden Boot as England turn their attention to their second group game against Ghana in Boston on Tuesday. A win there would confirm Tuchel’s side’s place in the knockout phase.