19/06/2026
England’s first half against Croatia was painful in the way only England can make football painful.
Two goals up.
Twice pegged back.
A 2 to 2 half time scoreline that had the whole nation staring into the middle distance.
Tuchel summed it up afterwards.
“The leads, both leads, didn’t make us more free.”
That line could sit on a lot of business marketing plans.
Because plenty of businesses do the same thing.
They get a few enquiries.
The pipeline looks a bit healthier.
Something starts working.
Then the instinct kicks in.
Pull back.
Reduce the spend.
Stop pushing.
Protect what is there.
Very sensible.
Very cautious.
Very good way to kill momentum stone dead.
Marketing does not work because you nursed it into a corner and whispered “steady now”.
It works when the right things are given enough time, enough consistency and enough backing to actually build.
England came out in the second half differently.
Less protecting.
More playing.
And suddenly Croatia were the ones trying to keep up.
That is the lesson.
Getting traction is not the moment to disappear into a low block.
It is the moment to understand what is working and build from it properly.
If your marketing has quietly become defensive, we should talk.
edworthymedia.co.uk
