England Set Up Shop in Florida Ahead of World Cup Campaign

The race toward this summer’s World Cup is officially underway, with the England squad landing in the United States to kick off their preparation phase. Head coach Thomas Tuchel and several players departed from Birmingham Airport on Monday, traveling to West Palm Beach, Florida, for a pre-tournament training camp.

While the initial group has arrived, a subset of key stars will report in later. Arsenal’s Declan Rice, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, and Bukayo Saka, alongside Crystal Palace keeper Dean Henderson, are all recovering from involvement in European finals last week and will merge with the team subsequently.

The squad’s first practice session is slated for Tuesday morning local time. Weather forecasts predict sweltering conditions, with temperatures expected to range between 28°C and 31°C. To ease the transition, Tuchel advised his players to take holidays in the US or Caribbean during the brief window between the end of the domestic season and the tournament, helping them adjust to the heat and time zone changes.

England’s schedule includes two warm-up fixtures: a match against New Zealand on June 6, followed by a game against Costa Rica on June 10. The World Cup itself begins on June 11. Following the Florida camp, the team will relocate to their main tournament base in Kansas City, Missouri, which operates six hours behind UK time.

Additional call-ups for the Florida camp include young Premier League talents Alex Scott, Rio Ngumoha, Josh King, and Ethan Nwaneri, as well as uncapped Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele.

England’s Group L campaign starts on June 17 against Croatia in Dallas, Texas, sharing the same time zone as Missouri. Subsequent matches include a clash with Ghana on June 23 in Massachusetts and a game against Panama on June 27 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey; both Massachusetts and New Jersey are five hours ahead of the UK.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-02 10:26:25 UTC