England assistant manager Anthony Barry says he has no regrets about his emotional half-time TV interviews that became a feature of the World Cup.
Barry, assistant to Thomas Tuchel, became a social media cult figure during the summer after a series of no-holds barred TV summaries that culminated with him almost crying as he spoke of his pride midway through England’s incredible 6-4 win over France in the third-placed game in Miami.
Asked about it for the first time today, Barry said: ‘I think it would have been hard for me to change if I was just going to be authentic.
‘To then stop being authentic would have been difficult to pull off, I would imagine. It was just part of my role and responsibility in the World Cup. Thomas does enough media. We didn’t think it was fair to ask a player to do it in the heart of a game, so I just said I would.
‘If it was received well, which obviously I know now it was, then that’s a nice thing for me. It’s a nice thing for fans if it was giving them feedback that they understood and liked.’
Anthony Barry’s stern half-time interview during the Croatia clash at the World Cup went down a storm with fans
Barry started his role as England assistant manager to Thomas Tuchel in January 2025
Barry first grabbed the headlines with a withering assessment of England’s first half display in game one against Croatia in Dallas. He described it as ‘complicated, confused and fearful’.
That set the tone for his pronouncements but it was his emotional appearance in Miami that has stuck in the memory.
‘I would say passion is part of it,’ he said. ‘I think certainly when you work for England. Once you wear this shirt. I think when I worked for Belgium, Portugal, whatever, it’s a privilege. But when you really put the England shirt on and you’re in a World Cup representing England, then there’s another level of passion and pride and affection.
‘Let’s say affection for this group of players. Thomas and I both fell in love with them from the minute we started working with them.
‘Inside the camp for seven weeks, it was pretty special, and I think you’ve seen that come out in the France game for me.
‘I couldn’t hide it and didn’t want to hide it because these players just deserve so much.’
