Tuchel reveals England may scrap preparation after ‘difficult’ World Cup group stage draw | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has revealed that England could scrap their pre-tournament plans after learning their group stage opponents at the 2026 World Cup.

England were drawn in Group L with European rivals Croatia, Panama and Ghana.

The Three Lions also faced Croatia and Panama at the 2018 World Cup, beating the latter 6-1 in the group stage and losing in extra time against the former in the last four of the competition.

In terms of pot four teams, Ghana became the toughest possible opponents when it was confirmed that England couldn’t face another European team after being drawn against Croatia.

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Thomas Tuchel reacts to England’s World Cup draw

Head coach Tuchel provided instant reaction to the draw, claiming that his side have been dealt a “difficult group”.

“Difficult group, difficult opening match against Croatia, who were a top seed in pot two,” he told talkSPORT.

“Ghana from pot four are a regular in World Cups and [Antoine] Semenyo and [Mohammed] Kudus play in the Premier League with a lot of quality.

“Panama is a bit of the unknown, we don’t know a lot about them now, but we will know a lot about them in June.

“We will start the tournament late, tomorrow we’re aware of where we’re going to play and we can put a plan together.”

On drawing Croatia, Tuchel added: “They are a top team, ranked tenth in the world and a regular in finals and semi-finals.

“It straight away starts with a difficult opponent and challenge.”

Tuchel also revealed to talkSPORT that planned friendlies could be scrapped for different opposition to better prepare for the tournament hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“We have friendlies in March and two prep matches in June,” Tuchel said.

“It is likely (facing Japan and Uruguay in those games), especially in terms of organisation.

“But we have to maybe think twice, as we don’t have an Asian team in our group or a South American team in our group.

“So I have to think about it, if we need to open the subject and look at other options, if this makes more sense for us to be maybe better prepared.

“In general, I think we will have strong opponents in March and then take the next steps.”

Tuchel delighted as England get cooler locations

One positive that Tuchel has taken from the draw is that England’s group games should all be played on the east coast of the United States, meaning it should be slightly cooler.

However, FIFA will not confirm the locations until Saturday.

Asked if it’s an advantage for him and his players, Tuchel replied: “That would be very helpful for me personally!

“But I didn’t get my head fully around it, so we need to come up with a good plan to be well prepared.

“We need to be prepared to be flexible, we need to be prepared to travel a lot no matter what’s happening.

“The biggest focus will be on the group and to not get distracted in thinking too far ahead.”