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Tuchel shrugs off pitch worries, poor weather ahead of tune-up game
🇸🇬 Singapore /Sports

Tuchel shrugs off pitch worries, poor weather ahead of tune-up game

From CNA · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • England's World Cup preparations face challenges from a potentially poor pitch and wet weather in Tampa, Florida.
  • Manager Thomas Tuchel remains committed to his plan of rotating players in the tune-up game against New Zealand.
  • The team aims to adapt to the conditions and maximize their limited exposure to sunshine before the tournament.

England's World Cup preparations have encountered unexpected hurdles with concerns over the playing surface for their tune-up game against New Zealand and unusually wet weather in Florida. Despite these issues, manager Thomas Tuchel stated he will proceed with his planned strategy for the match.

It just showed us you can plan whatever you want, and life does what it wants.

— Thomas TuchelCommenting on the unexpected wet weather in Florida.

The friendly in Tampa is intended to help the squad acclimatize to heat and humidity before their Group L opener. While persistent rain and overcast skies have limited their planned sun exposure, Tuchel indicated that training has not been significantly disrupted. "It just showed us you can plan whatever you want, and life does what it wants," he told reporters, noting the unusual weather.

Tuchel acknowledged the team has had less time in the sun than anticipated but expressed confidence in their ability to adapt and catch up in the coming weeks. "We don't have the hours that we wanted to be exposed but we will catch up with it, I think, in the next weeks," he said.

Today was the first day in the sun, complete day in the sun, which is what we wanted. We adapt to it, we make the most out of it.

— Thomas TuchelDescribing the team's efforts to adapt to the weather conditions.

Concerns have been raised about the pitch quality, with photos showing a patchy surface that could increase the risk of injury. "What I heard until now is that it should be okay and we want it, of course, to be okay," Tuchel commented, admitting a photo had caused some worry. He plans to give most players 45 minutes of game time by rotating two complete teams to ensure everyone gets valuable minutes on the field.

We don't have the hours that we wanted to be exposed but we will catch up with it, I think, in the next weeks.

— Thomas TuchelAddressing the limited sunshine exposure during preparations.

England will play a second friendly against Costa Rica before relocating to their base camp in Kansas City to prepare for their tournament opener against Croatia on June 17.

What I heard until now is that it should be okay and we want it, of course, to be okay.

— Thomas TuchelResponding to concerns about the pitch quality for the upcoming match.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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