Tuchel proud to lead out Three Lions

Thomas Tuchel can’t wait for England to get their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign underway against Croatia in Dallas later today (9pm BST kick-off).

The Three Lions travelled to Texas yesterday ahead of their tournament opener in Arlington and the England head coach will be proud to take charge of the team on Wednesday.

“I am very excited,” he said. “Once you arrive, the 16 days flew by. Once you arrive at the venue in the city that you play, you instantly feel the tension and excitement. I feel like we are ready to go.”

“I am still proud that the federation chose me and asked me to lead the team into this World Cup. I felt the connection to the country, to the sporting culture in England, very early.

“As soon as I started coaching in England at Chelsea, I felt this connection, and it never left me. Always a strong bond. It's a privilege to be here now."

The Three Lions boss also touched on the news that Trevoh Chalobah has been called into the squad to replace Tino Livramento who picked up a calf injury in training on Sunday afternoon.

The Chelsea defender will now make his way to the team’s basecamp in Kansas City.

“Tino was very disappointed and very sad,” he added. “I was a little shocked in training, and straight away he had the feeling this was an injury that could cost him the tournament.

“After assessment, we found out it could be four or five weeks, which is too long, so we took the decision to send him home. He was a key player and in good shape.

“We called Trevoh Chalobah to free up Jarell Quansah as a full-back, Chalobah comes as a centre-back alternative.”

And Tuchel looked ahead to England’s curtain raiser in Group L against Croatia, who the Three Lions met in the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup and opened their EURO 2020 campaign against.

“I think it's quite obvious they still have the core midfield, with Mateo and Luka Modric,” explained Tuchel. “It shifted a little bit, if they play with a back three, toward the back. They have a very strong back three. They still have the heartbeat of the team in the middle.

“They have experience; they have experience in tournaments. They have a very experienced coach. They have traditionally strong national teams, and that's what we face.

“We have to adapt – we have to get our press right, the initiative right. We need all of it to be able to win, but we are confident. We know what it takes.”