England manager Thomas Tuchel has said that his side is prepared to tackle the El Niño-linked heat and humidity during the FIFA World Cup 2026, which will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
England's players were scheduled to travel to Miami on Monday evening to acclimatise to the conditions that could challenge them at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
However, many players, including Arsenal's Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze, will join the England squad at a later date.
The reason they are joining later is to give them time to recover after a hectic season in which Arsenal won the English Premier League and lost to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final.
Thomas Tuchel on England's preparations
"When I reconnected with the games and built our training sessions and meetings to reconnect the team in Florida with what we have built already, I saw a lot of quality," Tuchel told Sky Sports. "That instantly gave me the full belief and excitement that we can go a long way," he added.
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson will also join the England squad later, after helping his team clinch the UEFA Conference League title. The rest of the squad members will assemble at West Palm Beach, Florida. "We are not used to being in this kind of heat and humidity, and even altitude if we play in Mexico," the German said.
"There will be a lot of challenges in this World Cup. The heat is one of them, but we are prepared already. We know the individual reaction of the players to the heat, and we have cooling strategies in place. We've had help from Team GB and specialists all over the world to come up with solutions that help the players to adapt. We know exactly the amount of time we want to expose them in pre-camp, the ideal amount of time that you should train in the sun, and that we also don't do too much," he added.
Tuchel said that his team will not use heat as an excuse at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The issue of heat management is not new in football. Player unions and medical experts raised similar concerns during the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which was held in the United States.
"It is a factor, but it should not come across that we are already making excuses," the 52-year-old said. "It's just not in our favour, and it is an obstacle to overcome," he added.
England's schedule
England are in Group L for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and will first face Croatia in Texas on 17 June. The Three Lions will then face Ghana in Boston on 23 June, before rounding off the group stage against Panama in New Jersey on 27 June.
Prior to their FIFA World Cup matches, England will play friendlies against New Zealand (6 June) and Costa Rica (10 June), with both matches taking place in Florida.
