England: Bukayo Saka no longer in pain as 26 all declared fit

England coach Thomas Tuchel said his team had no injury problems ahead of their second World Cup match against Ghana on Tuesday with midfielder Bukayo Saka no longer in pain from an Achilles tendon problem.

“Everyone is available, everyone was in training,” Tuchel told reporters on Monday.

“Bukayo is getting better and better. He’s more and more free in his movements. He feels no more pain. He was able to do both our training sessions the last two days on the highest level, so he’s ready to go without telling you if he will start on the bench.”

Saka, typically a first-choice starter for England, came on as a substitute in the 4-2 win over Croatia last week.

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England showed attacking fluidity v Croatia

The win showed off England’s attacking fluidity although Croatia’s two goals in a disorganised first-half performance raised concerns about shortcomings in the defence of Tuchel’s team.

The German sought to highlight the sense of togetherness in his squad, saying the competition between Saka and his Arsenal teammate Noni Madueke for the spot on the right of England’s midfield was “a beautiful thing”.

Similarly, Anthony Gordon was one of the first players to rush off the bench to congratulate Marcus Rashford, who had replaced him, for scoring England’s fourth goal against Croatia, Tuchel said.

He praised the approach to teamwork of Jude Bellingham, another scorer against the Croatians, whose attitude has been criticised by supporters in the past.

“He fully buys into the idea that we do this as a team and that’s why he’s with us,” the coach said.

Tuchel said he was aware of the threat posed by Ghana’s ability to soak up pressure and then counterattack at speed which represented a different style to Croatia.

“But that’s the beauty of it,” he said. “We play (in the) World Cup, we play now different cultures, different national teams and different approaches to the match, and it’s on us to adapt and to bring our strength and be respectful enough to adapt to the strengths of our opponent.”

Both teams won their opening games in Group L – Ghana overcame Panama 1-0 with a last-gasp winner – so three points at the home of the New England Patriots NFL team near Boston on Tuesday would bring qualification for the round of 32.

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Meanwhile, hydration breaks introduced at this World Cup are affecting matches more than initially thought and break the momentum of a game, Tuchel said on Monday.

FIFA introduced three-minute hydration breaks midway through each half due to sweltering temperatures in host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico but they have split opinions.

Critics say the breaks, which essentially cut the game down into four quarters, simply allow broadcasters to benefit from commercial breaks for over two minutes and it has been a bone of contention among the sport’s purists.

“I think that it (hydration break) interrupts and changes the identity of the football match, much more than I thought,” Tuchel told a press conference ahead of his team’s Group L match against Ghana on Tuesday.

“So I had, of course, hydration breaks before, when it was really, really hot and needed, but they were shorter and they were just in a few matches. So now it breaks the match almost in four quarters, and I think it changes the characteristic of the match more than I thought.”

Although not all fixtures are played during the day, hydration breaks have been mandated in each game at the World Cup in the interest of fairness and uniformity, even if weather conditions do not really require them.

Temperatures in Boston on Tuesday are not expected to exceed 20 degrees Celsius.

“I like it as a coach, of course, to have influence and have my team together, but overall I think I like football more when it’s played in one go, in one half, because it builds a momentum,” Tuchel said.

“It’s hard to build momentum, and it’s hard to keep the momentum… it plays out in a longer period of time and it just adds to the characteristic of the beautiful game, and it (hydration break) takes away from it.”