Marcus Rashford has taken his World Cup preparations to the United States, linking up with Inter Miami’s state-of-the-art facilities ahead of the tournament.
The England international is getting a head start on his teammates by acclimatising to the Florida heat following specific instructions from Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel’s American acclimatisation plan
The England forward arrived in the United States early after Tuchel called for his 26-man squad to holiday in American time zones before the tournament.
Many players are understood to have spent the off-season in the States or Caribbean after Tuchel stressed the importance of acclimatising to the conditions that will define the upcoming World Cup.
Weather is expected to be a major factor in the tournament, with studies showing that nearly a quarter of all World Cup games are likely to be played in temperatures higher than 26C. By heading to Florida, Rashford is ensuring he is physically prepared for the humidity, with Miami: Where football’s elite prepare to perform serving as the backdrop for his intensive individual sessions.
Private drills and United connections
Rashford flew into Florida and trained at David Beckham’s Inter Miami training complex with a private coach. The Barcelona winger shared a snap of his shooting practice, notably under the watchful eye of a coach dressed in Manchester United gear, suggesting he is maintaining close ties with his parent club despite his time away in Spain.
Rashford has worked privately with United coach Colin Little since his breakthrough in 2016. Former non-league striker Little is now Darren Fletcher’s assistant for the Under-18s but has helped Rashford work on his finishing over the years.
A transfer saga hanging in the balance
While Rashford focuses on his fitness, his club future remains a significant talking point. He spent the last season on loan at Barcelona, where sporting director
Barcelona are still trying to renegotiate Rashford’s £26m option to buy clause, despite splashing out £70m on former Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon. This financial hesitation has reportedly put Arsenal on red alert, with Mikel Arteta keen to bolster his attacking options.
England’s preparation roadmap
The majority of the England squad flew out to Miami on Monday for a pre-camp and two friendly matches against New Zealand and Costa Rica. England’s tournament training base is in Kansas City, Missouri, six hours behind UK time. Dallas, where Tuchel’s men face Croatia in their opening group game on 17 June, is also six hours behind BST.
The other Group L matches against Ghana and Panama, played in Boston and New Jersey respectively, will be played in a time zone five hours behind the UK. European finalists Declan Rice, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka and keeper Dean Henderson will join the rest of the squad at a later date as the Three Lions finalise their preparations.
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