England manager Thomas Tuchel said the team faces challenges from heat and humidity in the World Cup but is prepared and confident it can progress far in the tournament [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Many England players flew to Miami on June 1 to begin a 10-day pre-tournament acclimatisation camp in hot weather conditions [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
On June 2, England held a training session in West Palm Beach, Florida, where temperatures reached 32°C [6]. The squad of 26 players is splitting time between Miami and West Palm Beach, with many coming from holidays across the Americas and Caribbean [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Four Arsenal players—Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Noni Madueke, and Eberechi Eze—received extra recovery time after their Champions League final on May 30 and will join the camp later [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who played in the Conference League final last week, is also arriving late and will miss the June 6 friendly against New Zealand in Tampa [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Tuchel emphasized the team is not making excuses for heat conditions despite it being an obstacle. He said, "We are not used to being in this kind of heat and humidity, and even altitude if we play in Mexico. There will be a lot of challenges in this World Cup. The heat is one of them but we are prepared already" and added, "It (the heat) is a factor but it should not come across that we are already making excuses. It's just not in our favour and it is an obstacle to overcome" [1].
Midfielder Jordan Henderson stressed the importance of building capacity to heat, calling this week crucial: "You just build your capacity to these conditions. I know that depends on where you're playing in the country, it can be different all over so it's hard to really adapt but it's about this week to build that capacity, to get used to the heat a little bit" [6]. Midfielder Kobbie Mainoo said, "We're working really hard to get acclimatised as quick as we can. Hopefully by the first game we'll be ready and feel like home" [6].
Tuchel also noted the squad has cooling strategies and help from Team GB and global specialists to manage the conditions [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. He expressed confidence that the squad’s quality would show when fully connected: "When I reconnected with the games and built our training sessions and meetings to reconnect the team in Florida with what we have built already, I saw a lot of quality. That instantly gave me the full belief and excitement that we can go a long way" [4].
Previous tournaments in the US, including the 2025 Club World Cup, saw scorching heat raise concerns over heat stress, dehydration, and slower recovery, challenges some other teams such as Austria and Tunisia also face [1, 3, 4, 5].
England will play their opening World Cup group games on June 17 against Croatia in Dallas, June 23 against Ghana in Massachusetts, and June 27 against Panama in New Jersey [6]. The squad will continue training and acclimatising in Florida ahead of these matches.
