Birmingham City W · UEFA Championship - Women - Qualification · Goalkeeper · #1 · England · 25 yrs
Tuchel warns forward’s fitness being carefully monitoredSaka keen to play but not to ‘go against the manager’Bukayo Saka has admitted he is continuing to gamble on his fitness to play for England at the World Cup finals but said he “is ready to go” despite a nagging achilles injury.The Arsenal forward came off the bench in England’s last warm‑up game against Costa Rica but the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, warned that Saka’s fitness is being monitored carefully. The 24‑year‑old player is believed to have picked up the injury during the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City in March and missed Arsenal’s next seven matches as a result. Since then, he has completed 90 minutes only once in five appearances and was substituted before the end of normal time in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. Continue reading...
England’s squad arrived at Swope Soccer Village, their World Cup base, to find locals (and the local police) out in forceBefore Thomas Tuchel and his England players departed for the United States, there was talk about their World Cup training ground in Kansas City being too open. It was motivated, in part, by the Southampton spygate scandal. Would England’s rivals be able to steal a glance at them? Tuchel even said the Football Association would seek to erect protective fences.The nine-pitch facility at Swope Soccer Village is certainly sprawling but here’s the thing. Nobody is getting on site without going past the armed police officers at the entrance. There was a throwaway line from a steward on Saturday as England trained on the complex’s best pitch after flying in from Florida after their pre-tournament camp. “You guys see spying,” he said. “We see personal security.” The latter rather overrides the former. It was safe to say they have it covered. Continue reading...
