Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Bukayo Saka is fit to start for England against Ghana on Tuesday, but the manager faces a selection headache due to fierce competition for attacking spots. Saka, who only featured as a substitute in England's previous match against Croatia, has recovered from an Achilles injury and is now pain-free.
Tuchel Praises Declan Rice as World-Class
Speaking ahead of the match in Boston, Tuchel heaped praise on midfielder Declan Rice, who is set to win his 75th cap. "The point where he is now is one of the very best midfielders in the world," Tuchel said. "You see a humble, humble footballer, humble, ready to be a team player, ready every day to give energy into the good quality into the group and just ready to learn and learn every day. So his career makes him one of the very best at the moment. So proud peace coach."
Saka's Return Adds to Selection Dilemma
Saka's return to full fitness is a major boost for England, but Tuchel admitted that competition for places is intense. "It's another big thing on the right wing between Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka and the beautiful thing is they do it for Arsenal as well," Tuchel added. "Bukayo is getting better and better, feels no more pain and he is ready to go - without telling you if he starts or comes from the bench. Everyone has trained, everyone is available. No matter whether it's Marc (Guehi) in defence or Marcus (Rashford) and Bukayo (Saka), they all bought into it, the team as starters or coming on from the bench."
Tuchel Criticises Hydration Breaks
Tuchel also addressed the issue of hydration breaks, which he initially supported but now believes disrupt the flow of matches. "I think it interrupts and changes the identity of the football match much more than I thought," he said. "I had, of course, hydration breaks before. They were needed, but they were shorter. Now it is a point of fairness to every team. Now it breaks the match almost in four quarters. I think it changes the characteristics of the match more than I thought. I like it as a coach, of course, to have influence and have my team together. But overall I think I like football more when it's played in one go. It builds momentum, it's part of the game. It's hard to build momentum and it's hard to keep the momentum. It's just like the battle on the field between the players and the teams. It plays out over a longer period of time. It just adds to the characteristic of a beautiful game. This takes away from it. But in terms of fairness, of course it makes sense that everyone gets it."
England lost momentum against Croatia last week, and Tuchel acknowledged that hydration breaks can be problematic in this tournament. However, he stressed the importance of fairness for all teams.
