England begin World Cup preparations with first training session in USA

By Jonathan Veal, Press Association

England trained for the first time in the United States as they step up preparations for the World Cup.

21 of the 26 players in Thomas Tuchel’s squad took to the pitch in a community session in West Palm Beach on Tuesday as they begin to acclimatise to sweltering conditions in North America.

Arsenal quartet Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, and Noni Madueke and Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson did not train due to their involvement in European finals over the past week.

The group was complemented by Alex Scott, Ethan Nwaneri, Josh King, and Rio Ngumoha, who have travelled with the squad for the warm-up camp in Florida.

Tuchel’s men arrived on Monday evening and will increase the intensity over the coming days ahead of Saturday’s warm-up friendly with New Zealand in Tampa Bay.

They then face Costa Rica next Wednesday before moving to their tournament base in Kansas City ahead of their Group L opener against Croatia on June 17th.

Tuesday’s training marks the start of a journey that England hope finishes in glory on July 19th by ending 60 years of hurt and winning the World Cup for the first time since 1966.

Tuchel has vowed to add a second star to the shirt this summer but this will be one of the toughest assignments yet, given the conditions and logistics involved in a tournament spanning three countries and four time zones.