June 18, 2026
Lori Ewing, Reuters
By the time the Daily Star had crowned them the "Dallas Wow Boys", England had already lived up to their World Cup billing, and it was a few pointed words at halftime from Thomas Tuchel that helped turn promise into something far more emphatic.
"Even if we lose, we do it our way," the England manager told his players with the game 2-2 against Croatia, a contest that had threatened to drift into the uncertainty that has so often held England back at major tournaments.
What followed in the second half of England's thrilling 4-2 victory at AT&T Stadium -- normally home to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys -- was less a tactical tweak than a shift in mindset.
