Tuchel sends England warning ahead of Croatia clash after spotting unusual danger | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has sent a stern warning to England players ahead of their UEFA Nations League clash with Croatia on Saturday.

The match will be played behind closed doors with Croatia serving a punishment for poor crowd behaviour against France last year.

However, local children and a small number of England fans will have the opportunity to watch the game.

Tuchel has told his players not to allow the unusual atmosphere to affect their performance.

“We cannot fall asleep in the beautiful place where we are,” Tuchel said.

“We cannot switch off and be in holiday mode, and then tomorrow, there are a lot of children, so it might feel a little bit like pre-season.

“But it’s not pre-season. It’s a crucial game in the Nations League, and this is just another layer to be professional and to take care of.”

England are aiming to secure back-to-back victories in the Nations League and keep pace with group leaders Spain, who have won their opening two games.

Tuchel has no new injury concerns. The German tactician is pleased with his players’ condition, who have had time to rest after the victory over Czechia.

“We took care of fatigue in the last training sessions,” Tuchel said.

“It made a huge difference for us to have three days in between so we could actually take care of players with a high output, like Elliot Anderson and Anthony Gordon, for example.”

England have beaten Croatia in their last three meetings and will be confident of securing another victory this weekend.

The Three Lions will face Slaven Bilic’s side again in November before concluding their Nations League group campaign against Spain at the Metropolitano Stadium.