ORLANDO, Fla. — Thomas Tuchel has said England are starting to “click” into gear ahead of the World Cup and feels he is ready to “come alive” when the tournament starts.
Goals from Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon and substitute Ollie Watkins gave the Three Lions a 3-0 win over Costa Rica in Orlando after kick-off was delayed by an hour due to lightning storms in the region.
England dominated the game, amassing 80 per cent possession and registered 28 shots in a markedly improved display from last weekend’s 1-0 win over New Zealand.
Jude Bellingham impressed in the number ten role while Gordon, Rice and Elliot Anderson helped Tuchel’s team ease to a commanding victory.
And Tuchel said: “I said it before the match: we want to push it to the next level, from intensity, commitment and cohesion. We did that.
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“You could see the impact of the Arsenal players coming into camp. You could see also the impact of training, of course.
“We see the adaptation to the heat, to the climate and we see things clicking. But we demanded it today from the players to take the next step and they did. The players delivered and I’m proud of them, how they did it.
“Anyway, the most important thing is how we play and then the result takes care of itself. But we did it on a high level.”
England will play a behind-closed-doors match against Miami United on Thursday before the players are given a day off prior to travelling to Kansas City, where they will base themselves ahead of next Wednesday’s Group L opener against Croatia in Dallas.
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Reflecting on the pre-tournament camp in Florida, Tuchel said: “I think we set the tone today in the meeting and the players were ready to follow, to have the next step in intensity and the way we play, to push ourselves and get a good feeling out of it, which we absolutely did.
“I felt today the energy in the stadium was amazing and I thought ‘OK, if we can really play like this and grow into the tournament and have this kind of cohesion and brotherhood and team spirit that we showed today, then we will have an amazing connection with the fans’.
“This will hopefully be an amazing experience because it’s the first time for me and it’s a World Cup, and it’s coming.
“I think once the ball is rolling and games are already there, then I will feel it, and the latest in Kansas when we prepare then the official match.
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“The tension will grow but normally the stuff that I personally enjoy the most, then you feel that you’re alive.”
Rice suggested England’s authoritative display proved they had already acclimatised to the high temperatures, which returned once the storm had cleared.
The Arsenal midfielder told ITV: “I think we’ve adapted. You can see the heat is not really a problem now. I think the first week, ten days has been adapting to the heat.”
