World Cup 2026: England and Thomas Tuchel must be taken seriously after New Zealand game

Tuchel will have to take responsibility for this situation by making some test selections leading up to these final fixtures, including friendlies against Uruguay and Japan at Wembley in March.

Manchester City’s Phil Foden plays against Japan. In the Uruguay match, he scored Tuchel Foden, Everton’s James Garner and Spurs striker Dominic Solanke. None of those made the World Cup squad.

Ivan Toney came on for the second half in Tampa after spending a year in the English wilderness following his three-minute absence in Nottingham’s friendly defeat to Senegal at the City Ground.

This makes it all the more important for Tuchel in practice to line up as close as possible to what Costa Rica will face against Croatia at home. It will be an opportunity to gain momentum and speed and build combinations before the tournament opener.

Tuchel reported no injuries at least in this first warm-up game, but he added: “The better the opponent gets, the better we are.”

Kane’s goal came before half-time and heralded a massive turnaround, but Tuchel said: “I was happy in the second half, I thought we were more hungry and more interested, we played better but we didn’t score.

“In the first half we didn’t play according to our plan. It slowed the game down, but in the second half we were better.

“While we’re at it, we’ll get to the humidity and the sun. Tomorrow will be a recovery day, then we’ll have two days to prepare for Costa Rica. Then a few players will get more minutes. The Arsenal players are now in, which is good because it gives us energy and quality, and then we have another day and a half rest.

“Then we go to Kansas and prepare for Croatia.”