Tuchel sees upside in delayed England friendly, warns it's no excuse

Thomas Tuchel urged his England players to stay focused after their final World Cup warm-up against Costa Rica was disrupted by a severe storm in Orlando. He said the delay "gives us a little taste of what can happen in the tournament" and warned it should not be used as an excuse to lose mood, patience or hunger.

The squad were still at their team hotel when the severity of the storm became clear, allowing a simple adjustment to their travel plans to the Inter&Co Stadium. As Tuchel put it, "No problem at all. We realised it when we were still at the hotel so it was easy we just said half an hour later in the bus and let’s go." His calm approach filtered through the camp after a rigorous training spell in the United States.

There had been fears the downpour might force cancellation and deny England valuable minutes before facing Croatia, but Tuchel inspected the pitch and was satisfied the venue coped with the deluge. "It didn't cross my mind that it was so severe.

United States, Orlando

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