England manager Thomas Tuchel says the Three Lions are confident but must show Croatia, Ghana and Panama the respect they deserve after Friday’s World Cup draw.
England, who narrowly missed out on two European Championships and World Cups under Gareth Southgate, now head to North America as favorites aiming to end a 60-year wait to win a major tournament.
advertise
Croatia defeated England in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
The pair will play their opening games in Toronto or Dallas before England face Ghana and a group stage match against Panama, whom they beat 6-1 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Tuchel told the BBC: “Croatia and Ghana are two regulars at the World Cup, two proud and strong countries, and it’s a tough opening game.”
“I don’t know much about Panama at the moment but we will know more before the game starts.
“For me, I’ve only experienced the group stage in the Champions League and the way to approach it is to give it the utmost respect and focus all your attention on winning the group stage.
advertise
“It always seems difficult but we are confident we will be well prepared when we arrive.”
England cannot start play until June 17 due to being in Group L, which could provide some of Tuchel’s players extra recovery time if they play in Europe’s major club finals at the end of the season.
However, Tuchel’s side will face a condensed schedule if they reach the knockout stages.
“We now know we will start late in the competition and it will give us some time if the players are available for the European finals, hopefully,” the German added. “But we don’t want any (single) scenario because the schedule will be tighter later on.”
If the top seeds win their group, England could face Brazil in the quarter-finals and then potentially Argentina in the semi-finals.
kca/gj