Coach Tuchel is not happy with the World Cup draw results

Coach Zlatko Dalić reveals Thomas Tuchel's reaction when England were drawn in a group with Croatia.

With a tight schedule and cross-continental travel, England must calculate carefully if they want to end their 60-year wait for the World Cup title.

After the 2026 World Cup group stage draw took place in the early morning of December 6, England was placed with Croatia, Panama and Ghana. Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalić revealed a short conversation with his colleague Tuchel right after the draw.

“Tuchel was not happy about facing Croatia in the opening game,” he said. “He told me straight away: ‘We should have met in the quarter-finals, not in the first game of the group stage.’ But the draw was like that, no one was happy – neither England nor us.”

This is not an easy group for either England or Croatia. And if both teams do manage to make it out of the group stage, the next leg will be very difficult.

However, coach Dalić believes that it is the opponents at the World Cup who should fear Croatia, not the other way around: "Everyone wants to avoid Croatia. We have created miracles at the last two World Cups."

England are scheduled to open the 2026 World Cup against Croatia on June 17 in Dallas (USA) or Toronto (Canada). Six days later, the Three Lions will face Ghana in Boston or return to Toronto. The final group stage match against Panama will take place in New York or Philadelphia on June 27.

Source: https://znews.vn/hlv-tuchel-khong-vui-voi-ket-qua-boc-tham-world-cup-post1608861.html