The countdown is on for England to get their World Cup 2026 campaign underway. England have had to watch on as the likes of Germany, USA, Sweden and Scotland won their opening matches at this summer’s expanded tournament in North America. The good news for Three Lions supporters is the wait is almost over.
After three pre-tournament warm-up matches in Miami, England have now arrived at their training base in Kansas City, Missouri, though preparations for the showpiece event has been rocky. The squad had to contend with a theft of team equipment in transit, while their first evening saw Kansas City hit by extreme weather and a ‘deadly’ tornado warning issued.
Soon though, all the focus will be on the Group L curtain-raiser against Croatia in Dallas, which takes place on Wednesday, June 17 at 9pm in the UK. Ahead of the game, it has been confirmed that Clement Turpin has been appointed as the referee. This is somewhat of a controversial decision for England's opening World Cup game because Turpin was previously labelled a "Grade E" official by head coach Thomas Tuchel.
The incident occurred when Tuchel was in charge of Bayern Munich during the 2022-23 season as his side faced Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals. After being sent to the stands by Turpin in the second leg, Tuchel was critical of Turpin post-match. Speaking after Bayern's 4-1 aggregate loss, the German said: "Two things couldn't keep up with the level - the pitch wasn't in good condition and also the referee, unfortunately, was Grade E. I'd give him a one out of 10. He was absolutely terrible. It's unbelievable at this level. He was whistling for everything and anything. Everything was against us. In the end, we were never in a position to turn things around with three men against us. That's a fact."
