Thomas Tuchel, England manager, spoke about the match against Mexico, highlighting the importance of the match and the difficulties linked to the altitude and the time change.
The English coach presented tomorrow's match against the Azteca, which is crucial for the continuation of the journey in the World Cup. "Quansah has been training, so he is available. Instead James could go on the bench, but we have to check with the doctor." Thomas Tuchel, England coach, spoke like this on the eve of the match against Mexico, after the many criticisms about not having a full-back due to injuries to the starters.
On his impressions of Mexico City, Tuchel said: "We felt the enthusiasm surrounding the match and the commitment of the locals to ensuring that the World Cup goes off without a hitch. We were welcomed with great respect and were able to train in excellent conditions. Tomorrow we will play a crucial match in this iconic stadium. We will have to put in a great performance, and I believe we will succeed."
Regarding Mexico, Tuchel said: "We know everything about this team. They are among the top 10 in the world and they are achieving excellent results, not only in this World Cup, but already since March, when they faced Portugal and Belgium. They are a team capable of changing their defensive structure during the match, fluidly switching from high pressing to low blocking. In attack, they rely on a large number of midfielders, in particular accentuating the play of the wingers. They do not hesitate to play long balls towards Raul Jimenez".
On the possible time change, which later did not materialize, he said: "It created a bit of confusion for me and for the English FA managers. But for the players not at all; I don't think they even knew that that hypothesis had been taken into consideration."
On the altitude, Tuchel added: "It is felt even without training. I had a slight headache and I didn't sleep as well as in the previous days. But it's nothing we can't manage or adapt to. I think the players felt it at the start of training. We can't adapt physically, but we arrived a day early to get familiar with the situation before the match, and not just during the warm-up. We will have the pre-match warm-up to evaluate the speed of the ball. It's not surprising that they they start so strong. It will be very tough for us in the first 20 or 30 minutes."
Finally, on the 'mano de Dios', he commented: "Everyone remembers that goal; it's an iconic goal at Azteca, a huge disappointment for England. It's painful – it still hurts – but we're not here for a rematch. It's not even the same opponent. We're here with high spirits."
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