‘Makes more sense’ – Thomas Tuchel hints at instant change to England’s World Cup preparations following draw

England could be set to change their World Cup warm-up match opponents following the group stage draw.

The Three Lions were drawn into Group L during Friday’s ceremony in Washington DC.

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Thomas Tuchel‘s side have now learned the identity of their three opponents in the opening round next summer.

England will face Croatia, Panama and Ghana at the finals as they bid to end their 60-year wait for a trophy.

Ahead of the tournament, the FA had planned to schedule two friendly matches during the March international break.

Those fixtures will be followed by a pair of warm-up matches in the USA on the eve of the World Cup.

Although the opponents for the matches have yet to be confirmed, it was understood England would face Japan and Uruguay in March.

However, with the Three Lions not being drawn against a side from Asia or South America in the group stage, a change could be made.

Tuch and go

Tuchel has hinted that England may be forced into a rethink ahead of announcing their latest opponents.

Speaking to talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook, he explained: “We have two friendlies in March and two prep matches in June.

“It is likely (that England will face Japan and Uruguay in those games), especially in terms of organisation.

“But we have to maybe think twice as we don’t have an Asian team in our group or a South American team in our group.

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“So 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.

“In general, I think we will have strong opponents in March and then take the next steps.”

England could now look to face a side from CONCACAF in order to prepare for Panama.

Meanwhile, an African nation may be sought to prepare for their clash against Ghana.

The Three Lions previously faced Costa Rica on the eve of the 2018 World Cup, where they also met Panama in the group stage.

Tuchel’s side will learn the venues for their matches on Saturday, with the potential host cities whittled down to Toronto, Dallas, Boston, New York and Philadelphia.

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The former Chelsea boss is glad to have been handed a boost thanks to the cooler temperatures on the east coast.

He added: “That would be very helpful for me personally! But I didn’t get my head fully around it, so we need to come up with a good plan to be well prepared.

“We need to be prepared to be flexible, we need to be prepared to travel a lot no matter what’s happening.

“The biggest focus will be on the group and to not get distracted in thinking too far ahead.”

As for England being considered a serious contender to win the World Cup, he admitted: “I think they [other nations] do.

“We made sure that they do, if they don’t do it’s also good, so we can play the underdog card.

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“But I think the team played so well and they know that we are full of hunger and we will arrive full of desire to make something special happen, they take us very seriously.”

England qualified with a perfect record of eight wins from eight without conceding a goal.

As a result, Tuchel remains unbeaten in his eight competitive matches in charge, holding a 100 per cent record.

The Three Lions’ only defeat since his arrival came in a friendly clash with Senegal in June.