Tuchel wins Fifa battle to move photographers during anthems

Thomas Tuchel has won his first clash with Fifa over the staging of a World Cup anthem, after the governing body agreed to move photographers away from the bench area during national anthems. The England manager said the setup at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, left him unable to see his players as “God Save the King” played before the 4-2 Group L win over Croatia.

Tuchel said the obstruction came just before his World Cup debut as England boss on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, when he found himself facing what he described as a wall of about 50 photographers positioned only half a metre away. He said the moment was “very, very special” but that it “ruined a little bit” of the experience because he could not watch his team properly during the anthem.

The issue went beyond one man’s irritation. England’s bench area was effectively cut off from the field of play at the most symbolic point of the pre-match ceremony, forcing Tuchel and his staff to look at the players on the stadium’s giant screen instead. Tuchel said he asked Fifa to change the photographers’ position, and the photographers did not move when he tried to get them out of the way.

The episode underlined a familiar tension at major tournaments, where broadcast access, stadium choreography and team operations compete for space. At World Cup level, even the opening minutes of a match are tightly managed, and the placement of photographers during anthems can affect not only what a coach sees, but how a team experiences one of football’s most visible rituals.

For England, the scene inside the stadium was split in two. Tuchel was blocked from the pitch by photographers directly in front of the benches, while thousands of England supporters sang and waved flags through the anthem in the stands. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford, Morgan Rogers and the rest of the squad then went on to beat Croatia 4-2, giving Tuchel a winning debut despite the pre-match disruption.

England’s Group L programme now moves on quickly, with Ghana next on Tuesday, June 23, followed by Panama four days later. The adjustment to the photographers’ position means the focus shifts back to football, but the complaint has already exposed how much power lies in the tiny strip of space between the bench and the cameras.