Thomas Tuchel managing just fine as England get their 2026 World Cup off to ideal start

Just as France have Kylian Mbappe, Argentina have Lionel Messi and Norway have Erling Haaland – all of whom made their mark the previous day – the Three Lions have Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, both of whom starred on the last "first" day of a drawn-out tournament.

You can win World Cups on the back of a generational talent – Argentina have twice in the last 40 years – but it did not work for England at their last major tournament.

Bellingham and Kane rescued England when they were heading out of the 2024 European Championship against Slovakia but with the former seemingly not in a great headspace and the latter looking worn down, they made it to the final, but not the winner's podium.

England have such depth in talent it makes sense to spread the burden.

So for them it is about building a team spirit that allows players to max out playing intense football impossible for 90 minutes in a North American summer, then hand the baton to substitutes.

Gareth Southgate was exceptional at creating togetherness, but two summers ago Bellingham gave the impression his ego had got too big for that. The signs are that Thomas Tuchel's more abrasive methods are working with him, although it is an ongoing process.

This is not an attack on Bellingham. Top sportsmen and women need big egos to believe they can achieve things mortals cannot, but they have to be managed carefully. Kane has one too, it just expresses itself differently – like by playing more minutes than is helpful.

It felt like Bellingham was carrying a heavy air of entitlement in Germany, as though he felt team-mates were there to serve him like Argentina players do for Messi or Portugal's for Cristiano Ronaldo.

But the big difference is Bellingham is not more powerful than his manager, and Tuchel has spent 12 months ramming that home.

For most of that time Tuchel has given the impression former Middlesbrough player Morgan Rogers might start ahead of his fellow Brummie. Even in the hours before kick-off in Dallas we were not 100 per cent sure he would not.

But Bellingham got the chance to remind us what a big-game player he is, and did so by putting England in control during a brilliant start to the second half triggered by his goal.

Then, when the team needed it, he was shoved into a deeper role with Declan Rice feeling a problem in his lower back/hamstring he probably would have been allowed to play through at Arsenal.

Soon after, Bellingham was substituted for someone better at his new job.

Barnsley-born John Stones – a real Tuchel favourite – got hooked too. You would not bet against him having to watch Tuesday's game from the bench.

The contrast with Portugal's match, when a lifelike statue of Ronaldo was left on the field all game to the team's detriment was stark.

Even though some in this influencer era think otherwise, football is not all about personalities, and Tuchel's performance was not all about Bellingham.

The good thing about England's win was it was so imperfect. No point being at your best 33 days before the final, especially when 32 of the 48 teams reach the knockouts, there is so little group-stage jeopardy for the stronger nations.

A team that did not concede in eight qualifying matches was alarmingly poor defensively in the first half. The looseness of England’s passing when deep was worrying. Twice Croatia equalised Kane goals.

In a rare example of an informative "flash" half-time TV interview, assistant manager Anthony Barry called them "fearful". "Reckless" felt more appropriate, but the coaching staff knew the issues, and fixed them without personnel changes.

Substitutes improved things further. Marcus Rashford, scorer of the fourth, Marc Guehi, Bukayo Saka and, most unexpectedly, Djed Spence made strong cases to start in Boston on Tuesday, where Tuchel can now experiment more.

Each performance hammered home how England are going to try to win this World Cup by being the best squad, not the best team.

This side has been built to accommodate star players, just not to indulge them.

Kane's willingness to defend – most notably with a crucial block from Josko Gvardiol – can be a problem, leaving a hole where the centre-forward should be. But Tuchel has built a system where the "three-quarter line" behind him is staffed with players able to and encouraged to fill the vacuum.

How England played on Wednesday will not win a World Cup, but it made you more optimistic they can get to that point. Outstanding players were a big part of that, but the outstanding manager was crucial.