ATLANTA -- Thomas Tuchel has clearly been studying his American sports. The England men's team have a new mantra. When they were 1-0 down to Congo DR and chasing that equaliser, they kept repeating a phrase. "We have a saying, it's pound the rock," Anthony Gordon said moments after England's hard-fought 2-1 win.
"It's basically you have a big rock in front of you. Keep cracking it until you start to see cracks appear."
It's the mantra which inspired the San Antonio Spurs to their 2014 NBA title, based on a famous 19th century quote from Jacob Riis, a Danish immigrant who travelled to the U.S. in 1870 and worked tirelessly to help the poor.
"When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it," Riis said. "Yet at the 101st blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before."
Gregg Popovich adapted it for his Spurs, so after they lost the 2013 NBA final, this mantra was emblazoned on the wall of their locker room. All that collective effort, the hurt and pain, and little dents, helped the Spurs win their fifth title.
As England laboured against Congo DR, they kept in mind the Spurs' credo, one which has been adapted and used by several other sports teams since. During the second half hydration break, Tuchel reinforced the importance of patience and how if they trusted in what they were doing, England would eventually get their breakthrough.
"The message was always the same: keep pounding that rock," Tuchel said. "You have to keep on knocking, knocking, knocking, keep believing, keep on doing what we do, don't give in, we don't give in."
Eight or so minutes later, Harry Kane got the equaliser, and then with five minutes left, he scored the winner. The rock had split, just in time.
Tuchel is an avid watcher of sports documentaries -- he's recently enjoyed Rafa Nadal's Netflix documentary. He was astonished at the strife Nadal had to endure in the process of winning his 21 titles.
"Yes, we have some scars -- it helps you, actually. It helps you to remember the moment, how painful it was. But it is always possible to redirect your energy," Tuchel said before the Congo DR match. England certainly had to go through pain to book their round-of-16 spot.
Afterwards he dropped in the title of San Francisco 49ers legend Bill Walsh's 2009 leadership bible. "The result needs to take care of itself and we just kept knocking and knocking and, and doing what we do," Tuchel said, combining NFL and NBA inspiration in one sentence.
The issue is that, when England play Mexico at their impenetrable Azteca Stadium fortress on Sunday, in the humidity, and at altitude, they simply cannot allow the rock to build. If they start slow and find themselves a couple of goals down, no amount of chiselling away will crack what blocks their path to the quarterfinals.
Tuchel was asleep at 10 p.m. on Tuesday evening, and owing to the delayed start due to weather, missed the Mexico vs. Ecuador match. A couple of the players stayed up to watch it. They watched Mexico put in an astonishing first-half performance. They scored through Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez, while Jiménez should've scored another as he missed a close-range header.
Mexico were a level above any of the four teams England have played so far. Perhaps that will suit England: a more expansive match lies in wait. But the danger of these occasions is that by the time you've blinked a couple of times, the match has already zoomed past you.
England's first-half form has been shaky at the World Cup. They needed Tuchel's rousing half-time speech to right the ship against Croatia where they were locked at 2-2 at the break. It was 0-0 against Ghana and stayed that way for the rest of the match. Panama caused England's defence issues during their first half in New York with the match goalless at the break, but England eventually came through 2-0. Against Congo DR, they were 1-0 down at half-time but Kane saved them in the second half.
They have to shift this trend if they are to win in Mexico City at the beautiful, imposing Azteca. The crowd will be on England's backs from the minute they set foot in the city, the altitude stifling.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere," Anthony Gordon said. "I think we're ready. We've got a great team. We face adversity. We hold each other accountable so we're in a great place. We've got good momentum."
But for all the talk of the score taking care of itself, there are so many variables which will go against England. If they are to get through this mammoth task, then they can't allow themselves to be in a similar situation to the ones they've found themselves in this World Cup.
England found a solution against DR Congo, but no stonecutter anywhere would be able to find a way through the obstacle Mexico will have assembled if they're granted a fast start on Sunday.