Thomas Tuchel will not change England’s style despite the searing heat of the United States — because doing so would mean “giving up” the team’s strengths. The German, who took charge in January 2025, has built his squad around physicality and powerful running, and he insists that philosophy will not be abandoned for the World Cup opener against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday.
“I’m just not ready to adapt into a different style of football because of circumstances that we cannot influence,” Tuchel told BBC Sport. “I think we would just give up our strengths.” Temperatures in Dallas are forecast to exceed 30C by the 9pm BST kick-off, but the AT&T Stadium is one of the air‑conditioned indoor venues at this tournament, giving Tuchel belief his side can impose their game “because we play indoors”. Still, the heat has been felt during England’s training camp in Kansas City. “Yesterday, it was very hot even here in training,” he said. “And we could feel that it has more impact.”
“Tuchel refuses to change England's style despite World Cup heat, insisting it would sacrifice strengths before Croatia opener.”
Mandatory hydration breaks have been introduced across all matches, effectively splitting each half into quarters. Tuchel acknowledged that the three-minute intervals offer coaches a chance to “change and reset” and deliver “group messages”, potentially altering the rhythm of games. But he remains unbowed: “We have a young group. We have a courageous group. We have a brave group of players. So let’s go for it. I mean, no one guarantees you that we win. So we want to at least try it, our style and our belief.”
England’s preparations suffered a blow on Tuesday when Tino Livramento was ruled out of the tournament with a calf injury, prompting the call‑up of Trevoh Chalobah. Four places in Tuchel’s starting XI are still undecided, with the coach keeping his players on their toes until the final hours. The key decisions, according to chief football writer John Cross, involve Bukayo Saka or Noni Madueke, Anthony Gordon or Marcus Rashford, Jude Bellingham or Morgan Rogers, and the centre‑back pairing of Ezri Konsa and John Stones over Marc Guehi. The predicted lineup sees Harry Kane leading the attack, supported by Bellingham, Gordon and Saka.
Around 10,000 England supporters are expected in Dallas, where the team will face familiar foes Croatia. Tuchel used last year’s Club World Cup in the US, alongside the Football Association’s support team, to plan England’s World Cup preparation. “Research about the Club World Cup showed us that the style is pretty much the same,” he noted, though the sentence trailed off. For now, the only certainty is that England will play their way — heat or no heat.