World Cup 2026: England boss Thomas Tuchel ‘absolutely believes’ his side can mount a serious challenge to win the tournament | football news

Thomas Tuchel says he and his England players have “absolute faith” they are capable of winning the World Cup.

The head coach said Sky Sports News His recent interaction with his players has assured him that there is great unity in the squad and their preparation to compete in the final stages of the tournament.

He believes that both factors are important if the second star is to be placed on the England shirt.

Most of Tuchel’s men will be gearing up for the start of a 10-day hot weather acclimation camp in Miami on Monday evening.

“When I reconnected with the games and made our training sessions and meetings to reconnect with what we had already created in Florida, I saw a lot of quality,” Tuchel said. Sky Sports NewsBefore flying to the US.

“It immediately gave me full confidence and excitement that we could go far.

“Then things like the tough phone calls, the big phone calls, the positive phone calls and the reaction from the players tell you that we already have a connection.

“It tells me that the players care and they care a lot. We’ve had beautiful, touching reactions, even from players who weren’t called up and they were wishing us the best. The way they reacted tells me that we’re on the right track and it makes me excited to get closer personally.

“I can’t wait to get on the plane, look over my shoulder, finally have a team behind me and get to Florida to do what I love most, which is being a coach.”

Tuchel: The heat is a reason but not an excuse

Twenty-one of the 26-man squad will join from various locations, meeting in West Palm Beach to begin their pre-tournament training camp.

Some of these players have been holidaying in the US and the Caribbean since the Premier League season ended, with Tuchel’s recommendations about the importance of adapting quickly to temperatures and different time zones ringing in their ears.

England’s coaching staff, along with the FA’s sports scientists, have been planning for more than 12 months the grueling conditions the players will face in North America and possibly Mexico in the knockout stages.

In Barcelona last June, the FA built specialist heat chambers to replicate what lies ahead, where temperatures are expected to reach the high-30s Celsius at times with a suffocating humidity of around 75 per cent.

While in Spain, the players were asked to swallow biometric tablets so FA experts could monitor their internal temperature and other key data as they practiced to the point of near exhaustion. Each player was ranked based on their ability to recover quickly.

The FA has also sought advice from various British sports teams, who have faced similar atrocity during international competitions.

Tuchel admits the heat will be a big challenge for England, but is refusing to let it be an excuse.

‘The situation is an obstacle to overcome’

“Conditions are not our worst enemy but it is not in our favor after a long and very demanding season for our players,” Tuchel said.

“We’re not used to this kind of heat and humidity and even altitude when we play in Mexico.

“There will be many challenges in this World Cup. Heat is one of them but we are already prepared.

“We know the players’ individual response to the heat and we have cooling strategies.

“We’ve drawn from Team GB and experts around the world to come up with solutions that help players adapt.

“We know exactly how much time we want to expose them to in pre-camp, your ideal time to train in the sun and we don’t do too much.

“So the reality is that the first game (against Croatia on June 17) is indoors and the air conditioning is on, so it shouldn’t be a problem. We have to adapt from there.

“It is a factor but it should not come that we are already making excuses. It is not in our favor and it is a hurdle to overcome.”

Arsenal’s players have been given more time after the CL final defeat

The four Arsenal players who took part in Saturday’s Champions League final will not join their England team-mates for another few days.

Tuchel decided that Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Noni Maduke and Ibere ​​Eze should be given some extra time to recover.

Expect those players, along with Dean Henderson, who featured in Crystal Palace’s Europa Conference League triumph – will miss Saturday’s friendly against New Zealand in Tampa, but will be fully fit in time for the final friendly against Costa Rica in Orlando four days later.

Meanwhile, Alex Scott, Ethan Nwaneri, Rio Ngumoha, Josh King and goalkeeper Luke Steele will train with the larger squad to provide Tuchel and his coaching staff with a full complement of players on the training ground.

‘Preparations will begin after joint start for England’

Rob Dorsett on Sky Sports News’ Miami:

And so it begins!

England fly to Miami on Monday evening to win the 2026 World Cup.

It would be a disjointed start but Tuchel fully expected it.

The US Southeast Coaster will have 21 of the 26 players in his squad. Many of them are vacationing in and around the area after the head coach himself encouraged them to do so to acclimate quickly.

Four Arsenal players who took part in the Champions League final will not be here. They will fly out later in the week and will not feature against New Zealand later in the week. The same goes for goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who has also been handed extra time following Crystal Palace’s Conference League win.

Only then, where they are all part of the group, will the England squad be complete, so don’t expect any pictures of the squad in action on the plane any time soon. That will come later.

However, England will begin their preparations with the FA sports scientists watching. Temperatures in this part of America are often in the high 30s at this time of year, and there is 75 percent humidity. Even in the darkness and rain of the night we are experiencing 29 degrees Celsius.