Just three months after Thomas Tuchel came under fire for his contentious role in England's World Cup exit, the German soccer coach said Saturday's 7-0 demolition of Croatia proved they had healed the wounds of that painful experience.
Tuchel's side were on the verge of reaching a first World Cup final since 1966 when they took the lead in the second half of the semifinal against Argentina in July.
But Tuchel's decision to adopt a more defensive approach in the closing stages backfired spectacularly as Argentina scored twice in the last five minutes to leave England's World Cup dream in tatters.
The former Bayern Munich and Chelsea boss was pilloried for his cautious tactics, leading to questions about his ability to retain the backing of his players.
Tuchel absorbed the slings and arrows of a heartbroken nation before stepping about salving the wounds during the current international break.
Despite losing 3-2 to world champions Spain in their Nations League opener last weekend, England's performance was encouraging for Tuchel, who saw more reasons for optimism in Tuesday's ruthless 2-0 win over 10-man Czech Republic.
And as England peppered Croatia with a relentless attacking display in the Nations League tie in Rijeka, Tuchel could finally start to move on from the World Cup woe.
Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka both scored twice, with Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers also netting.
It was the sort of vibrant attacking performance that England fans hoped for at the World Cup and Tuchel believes the lessons have been learnt.
"I've said many times, we will always have a scar, we will always feel pain and disappointment. That is the way it is but this is the way to move forward," he said.
"We adjusted some stuff after some things after the World Cup and we played in the same manner in all three matches.
"We are getting better at it and the team buys into it, this is the most important."
Croatia had lost only four of their previous 41 games at home.
But England were masterful as they inflicted Croatia's heaviest ever defeat, albeit Slaven Bilic's ageing side are a shadow of the group that reached the World Cup final in 2018 and the last four in 2022.
The biggest win of the Tuchel era leaves England poised to secure the top-two finish in their Nations League group, which would book a place in the quarterfinals in March.
"This is the only way to move forward, even if you still feel pain. You have to play with the pain if you still feel the disappointment, you have to play with it, that is the nature of sport," Tuchel said.
"It was not an easy camp in the beginning after this long tournament for multiple reasons. But it was excellent from the first training session.
"To bring it within these circumstances in Croatia, to win with this dominant performance, that is the way to move on."
Kane, Gordon and Saka were all in unstoppable mood, while Elliot Anderson and Alex Scott formed a solid central midfield base behind Bellingham, who starred on his return to the line-up following his substitute appearance against the Czechs.
"At the moment, it seems like he's gone to another level. The level you showed last week is never enough in the next week – that's just the nature of football," Tuchel said of Bellingham.
"You can never stand still. You have to push for the next level, otherwise other teams will catch up. That's why it is always necessary to reach for the next level." – AFP
