Thomas Tuchel Says Tampa Pitch Worries Won’t Affect England Selection vs New Zealand

England head coach Thomas Tuchel said he was “a little bit worried and concerned” about the patchwork pitch awaiting his team in Tampa but insisted it “will not affect my team selection” for Saturday’s friendly against New Zealand at Raymond James Stadium.

“- Published England head coach Thomas Tuchel says reports about the state of the pitch for his team's friendly against New Zealand will not influence which players are involved”

BBC

Tuchel said the plan for the match is to play “45, 45 minutes with two complete teams” to “expose everyone to the same amount of minutes,” then continue “the next three days with the same load of training.”

BBC

The New York Times reported that pictures published by the Daily Mail showed the playing surface was still “disjointed in some parts” and appeared “yet to fully blend together.”

Tuchel also framed the session as a chance to reconnect to England’s “identity,” saying it is “mainly focused more on the minutes” and about “connections on each side, more about connections in the back four.”

At his pre-match press conference, Tuchel told reporters, “I saw just a photo that made me a little bit worried and concerned, but let’s decide when we are there.”

The BBC said Tuchel told a news conference that the condition of the pitch “will not affect my team selection,” adding that he has “heard” it “will be OK.”

Oxford Mail

Tuchel said he hopes the surface will be fine and pointed to the venue’s maintenance, telling the New York Times, “We have a greenkeeper who takes care of it and I hope it will be alright.”

The BBC reported England are in Florida for a pre-World Cup camp in West Palm Beach and will play New Zealand on Saturday (21:00 BST), with the other warm-up against Costa Rica on 10 June (21:00 BST).

Tuchel said England’s World Cup campaign begins against Croatia on 17 June, and he described how he might manage minutes and selection by using the New Zealand friendly and the other warm-up to decide his first tournament XI.

“Thomas Tuchel is hopeful the newly-laid pitch at Raymond James Stadium will not cause his England side any issues when they play New Zealand in Tampa on Saturday afternoon”

The New York Times

The BBC reported that England trained with 27 players on Friday in a session that did not include Arsenal players Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka because they were involved in the Champions League final on 30 May.

The BBC also said Premier League players Josh King, Rio Ngumoha, Ethan Nwaneri, Alex Scott and Jason Steele have been training with Tuchel’s squad to boost numbers, and goalkeeper Dean Henderson trained after joining the squad following Crystal Palace’s victory in the Conference League final.

Tuchel said England captain Harry Kane is in “top shape” and “ready to go,” and he suggested he may consider taking “some minutes off him [Kane]” while also saying “we also want them on the pitch” if the matches are close.