Tuchel's turning up the heat on England

THOMAS Tuchel cannot wait to start the next chapter of England’s World Cup adventure in Kansas City after closing their Florida training camp with a behind-closed-doors friendly on Thursday.

- By SIMON PEACH

The Euro 2024 runners-up are among the favourites for glory this summer and arrived in West Palm Beach last Monday to begin acclimatising to the relentless heat and humidity of a North American summer.

England played a pair of Florida friendlies as part of their warm weather preparation, with Saturday's 1-0 win over New Zealand in sweltering Tampa followed by a fine 3-0 triumph against Costa Rica in the oppressive Orlando heat.

Head coach Tuchel said after the dominant weather-delayed win on Wednesday: “I wished for that, I demanded that.

“I said before the match that we want to push it to the next level, from intensity, commitment, cohesion, and we did that.

“We could see the impact of the Arsenal players coming into camp and could see also the impact of training of course.