England taking care of Saka before World Cup - Tuchel

Bukayo Saka tosses a football in the air during an England training session in Florida

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Bukayo Saka won his first cap for England in October 2020

BySami MokbelSenior football correspondent

Published55 minutes ago

Thomas Tuchel says Bukayo Saka needs to be carefully steered back to full fitness as England head into a World Cup where they must "dare to dream".

History is against 1966 winners England, head coach Tuchel pointed out.

But his view is that "a bit of luck", plus sharp focus and self-belief, could make his team serious trophy challengers if they come through the early rounds.

Having his most important players available may be key, and Saka ranks highly among that contingent.

The Arsenal winger missed part of the climax to the domestic season through a muscle injury, though he did return in time for the club's run-in as they won the Premier League title.

Tuchel said Saka, who has scored 14 goals in 48 appearances for the Three Lions, still requires careful attention before the tournament - which has raised some concerns given he is a key player.

"We still have to take a little bit of care for Bukayo [Saka] who had an injury in March and carried it through the club campaign," Tuchel told a news conference.

"He made himself available at the end of the season and did so brilliantly, but he was managed in between matches. That continues a bit at the moment - we are building him up.

"We just came from training and everyone was involved including Bukayo."

Tuchel said he must assess Saka and the rest of his England squad before deciding who starts the final warm-up match against Costa Rica on Wednesday (21:00 BST).

Having made 11 changes at half-time in Saturday's 1-0 win against New Zealand, Tuchel will give some players a longer run-out to build their fitness before the tournament opener with Croatia on 17 June.

John Stones is among the players who could benefit from more game time having played a peripheral role at Manchester City last season.

"Of course [Stones can start]. Everyone can start - everyone is fit and ready and John is one of them," said Tuchel.

"Before this, we have two more matches to play and hopefully we take the next step. Hopefully we all stay healthy and have the full availability for Croatia.

"No-one needs a break. Everyone is available which is very good news. No [injury] complaints after the first match.

"[We've had] one day of recovery and two good training sessions. We are ready to give it a push tomorrow - meaning more than 45 minutes.

"Players will play 60, maybe 70 minutes. We will make this decision in the afternoon."

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'Challengers, not favourites'

England manager Thomas Tuchel with his arms folded as he watches his players train in Florida

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

Thomas Tuchel is England's third foreign coach after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello

Tuchel insisted that England are not the favourites to lift the World Cup at the end of July.

England have reached two European Championship finals in succession and been tipped to go deep into the tournament in North America.

"If you get to two Euros finals, and reach semi-finals and quarter-finals of the World Cup, then you are there - then you can win it," the 52-year-old German said.

"Then maybe it just takes a bit of luck or whatever. I strongly believe we are there, but I also believe we are not the favourites because of the history.

"We see ourselves as competitors and challengers. We want to go all the way but I don't think we are the heavy favourites."

Tuchel continued: "Maybe it's the wrong comparison, but if you go to Wimbledon and haven't won it for 60 years, you're not the favourites - but you can win it, of course. That's what we want to do.

"We know what it takes, and it also requires a calm mindset and focus on our steps. If we want to reach the top of the mountain, we need to start the journey step by step. Otherwise, we'll get distracted.

"I have belief. We all have belief and a dream. But it comes with hard work, responsibility, commitment and discipline - and sometimes disappointment. That's all part of it. But we dare to dream, and that's important."

Meanwhile, Tuchel has expressed his gratitude to the Football Association (FA) for allowing him to focus on the football despite the growing number of political issues that have engulfed the build-up to the tournament.

Fifa has confirmed that Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan will not take part in this summer's World Cup after he was denied entry into the USA on Monday.

There have also been a series of visa issues connected to participants Iran in recent days.

"I'm grateful to the FA for letting me separate [politics and football] and talk about football and just talk about football because we need to be focused," added Tuchel.

"We can't be distracted. It's hard enough to be focused without being distracted."