Thomas Tuchel is hopeful the newly-laid pitch at Raymond James Stadium will not cause his England side any issues when they play New Zealand in Tampa on Saturday afternoon.Pictures obtained and published by the Daily Mail on Friday revealed the playing surface was still disjointed in some parts and appeared yet to fully blend together.Tuchel was shown a picture of the pitch his team are due to play on in their first of two warm-up friendlies in Florida ahead of the World Cup and, although he admitted some concern, he is confident it won’t be an issue.“It will not affect my team selection because what I have heard until now is that it should be OK and we want it, of course, to be OK,” Tuchel said at his pre-match press conference.“I saw just a photo that made me a little bit worried and concerned, but let’s decide when we are there.“If there are any issues, we can always react to it. We have a greenkeeper who takes care of it and I hope it will be alright. It is an American football pitch. I can see that. Hopefully it will be fine. We are told it is OK.”England arrived in West Palm Beach on June 1 for a warm-weather training camp to prepare themselves for the World Cup.Saturday’s friendly against New Zealand — which is being played at the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ stadium at 4pm ET (9pm GMT) — will be their first game since landing in the United States.Tuchel revealed his plan is to play each half with two separate teams to “expose everyone to the same amount of minutes”.“Then we can continue the next three days with the same load of training,” he added. “That is the plan, and at the moment we stick to the plan.”Tuchel also said that the England doctor is prepared to help the players complete a medical on site if they are on the verge of completing a transfer during the summer window.Anthony Gordon left Newcastle United to join Barcelona in a €80million move ahead of flying to the United States, while Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson — who is with England in the U.S. — has been subject of a bid from Manchester City.Although his preference is for any business to be completed before their World Cup begins against Croatia on June 17, so long as conversations with agents and other clubs are not taking place one day before an England match, then Tuchel will be relatively relaxed about it.“If it is quietly done, privately done, done efficiently, we are always happy to help to have clarity around the player,” Tuchel added.“I think the best we can have is clarity. If anyone has the chance to complete a change of club and a transfer, we will not stand in the way but it has to align of course with our schedule and our goals which is to be focused and prepare for matches.“The last day before the match for sure and the second day before a match, not. Let’s see. We take it case by case. Until now, no player approached me. The doctor is ready to take any medical if needed.”Jun 5, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms