Thomas Tuchel has revealed that England could scrap their pre-tournament plans after learning their group stage opponents at the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n
England were drawn in Group L<\/a> with European rivals Croatia, Panama and Ghana.<\/p>\n The Three Lions also faced Croatia and Panama at the 2018 World Cup, beating the latter 6-1 in the group stage and losing in extra time against the former in the last four of the competition.<\/p>\n In terms of pot four teams, Ghana became the toughest possible opponents when it was confirmed that England<\/a> couldn\u2019t face another European team after being drawn against Croatia.<\/p>\n MORE ON 2026 WORLD CUP ON F365 Thomas Tuchel reacts to England\u2019s World Cup draw<\/p>\n Head coach Tuchel<\/a> provided instant reaction to the draw, claiming that his side have been dealt a \u201cdifficult group\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cDifficult group, difficult opening match against Croatia, who were a top seed in pot two,\u201d he told talkSPORT<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cGhana from pot four are a regular in World Cups and [Antoine] Semenyo and [Mohammed] Kudus play in the Premier League with a lot of quality.<\/p>\n \u201cPanama is a bit of the unknown, we don\u2019t know a lot about them now, but we will know a lot about them in June.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will start the tournament late, tomorrow we\u2019re aware of where we\u2019re going to play and we can put a plan together.\u201d<\/p>\n On drawing Croatia, Tuchel added: \u201cThey are a top team, ranked tenth in the world and a regular in finals and semi-finals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt straight away starts with a difficult opponent and challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfc6 \ud835\udfee\ud835\udfec\ud835\udfee\ud835\udff2 \ud835\uddea\ud835\udde2\ud835\udde5\ud835\udddf\ud835\uddd7 \ud835\uddd6\ud835\udde8\ud835\udde3 \ud835\uddd7\ud835\udde5\ud835\uddd4\ud835\uddea \ud83c\udfc6<\/p>\n The draw is set! Bring on next summer\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/KRKcjHB47m<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Football365 (@F365) December 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Tuchel also revealed to talkSPORT that planned friendlies could be scrapped for different opposition to better prepare for the tournament hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have friendlies in March and two prep matches in June,\u201d Tuchel said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is likely (facing Japan and Uruguay in those games), especially in terms of organisation.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we have to maybe think twice, as we don\u2019t have an Asian team in our group or a South American team in our group.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I have to think about it, if we need to open the subject and look at other options, if this makes more sense for us to be maybe better prepared.<\/p>\n \u201cIn general, I think we will have strong opponents in March and then take the next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n Tuchel delighted as England get cooler locations<\/p>\n One positive that Tuchel has taken from the draw is that England\u2019s group games should all be played on the east coast of the United States, meaning it should be slightly cooler.<\/p>\n However, FIFA will not confirm the locations until Saturday.<\/p>\n Asked if it\u2019s an advantage for him and his players, Tuchel replied: \u201cThat would be very helpful for me personally!<\/p>\n \u201cBut I didn\u2019t get my head fully around it, so we need to come up with a good plan to be well prepared.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to be prepared to be flexible, we need to be prepared to travel a lot no matter what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest focus will be on the group and to not get distracted in thinking too far ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n READ NEXT:\u00a0Big Weekend: Aston Villa v Arsenal, Leeds, Marco Silva, Lucas Paqueta<\/a><\/p>\n
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