ARLINGTON, Texas -- England coach Thomas Tuchel was upset that photographers blocked him from seeing his team during the playing of the national anthem before a victory over Croatia in his World Cup debut.
"I'm begging FIFA to change the position of the photographers, because I could not see my team [during] the national anthem, and I was waiting for this moment," Tuchel said after England beat Croatia 4-2 on Wednesday.
During the playing of England's anthem, "God Save the King," Tuchel gestured toward the photographers -- who assemble directly in front of the two benches during the anthems -- attempting to get them to move. When that didn't happen, the German put his arm around his fellow staff members as they resorted to looking up at the stadium's jumbo screen to see their players.
"It was a very, very special moment today and I was standing in front of 50 photographers half a meter away and I could not see one single player," Tuchel said. "It ruined a little bit my experience today."
Tuchel was full of praise for his captain Harry Kane who scored twice against Croatia to equal Gary Lineker's record tally of 10 World Cup goals for England.
He also reserved praise for Jude Bellingham who scored the crucial third goal after half-time to put England 3-2 ahead. Bellingham had been dropped by Tuchel for previous England squads but was a notable starter in Texas.
"You can rely on Jude in these moments," Tuchel said as attention turns to Tuesday's meeting with Ghana.
"He loves these pressure games. That brings out the best in him, so that's an easy decision to let him play and to trust him.
"Also, because of the last 16 days, 17 days, how he bought into the idea of team spirit and brotherhood, and into the idea of how we want to play football, which is slightly different to his position in Real Madrid.
"The tough, tough decision was today to say to Morgan Rogers that he will not start because he deserves 100% to start, and he did ever so well for us and then for me.
"I think Jude was very reliable and did his very best to be a top team player for us."
Bellingham's goal set the tone for an enhanced second half against Croatia, whose goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic did brilliantly to keep England at bay until substitute Marcus Rashford's later goal.
It was a cool finish from a player who spent last season on loan from Manchester United at Barcelona, who spent big bringing in England rival Anthony Gordon on the eve of the World Cup.
"He struggled for us to be decisive when he started, but he was always trying and got a bit unlucky for a long time," Tuchel said of Rashford.
"We just had a talk [on Tuesday] where I told him that I'm very, very impressed with his last 16 days -- how he was in camp, how he pushes on the field.
"He is totally invested in every meeting. He is very, very fast in translating a meeting onto the pitch, what we want tactically.
- England at the 2026 World Cup: Schedule, results, how to watch, news, analysis, injuries, more
- Jude Bellingham: 'Chip on my shoulder' can help England at World Cup
- Croatia boss bemoans inability to handle England set-pieces at World Cup
"He pushes on a very respectful level with Anthony Gordon on the position, so at the moment he's in a very good place.
"I was so happy that he was the one to unlock this long spell, where he was not decisive for us from within the game, and hopefully he can keep this up."
Associated Press and the Press Association contributed to this report.