In looking to pass the ball backwards to entice pressure from Croatia, before looking to play long into the space, England at times got the balance wrong.
Anthony Barry, England’s assistant coach, spoke at half-time about this issue.
“I think a lot of nervous energy early on,” he said. “Then we made some decisions, playing long when we should play short, playing short when we should play long, not playing through the gaps to accelerate our game the way we wanted to.”
By playing too direct early and often, England turned the ball over perhaps more than they would have liked. This created a first half that was more end-to-end, leaving spaces for the opponents to attack.