Kane Praises England's Preparation as Squad Reaches World Cup Base Camp

Thomas Tuchel's squad arrived in the Midwest on Saturday following a training camp in Florida, where they contested two friendly matches, against New Zealand and Costa Rica, winning both.

They are considered one of the favourites to lift the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States, having come close to claiming silverware at recent major tournaments.

England captain Harry Kane stated that the preparation for their opening match against Croatia next Wednesday in Arlington, Texas, had been "top quality".

"The way we worked, the way we trained, the preparation for matches, the way we played and also just the team spirit, the way we reconnected," he said.

"The relaxation away from it as well, the recovery part of it. Everything was at the highest standard, so I feel that we can enter this part of the camp knowing that we have had excellent preparation."

The 32-year-old Bayern Munich forward said that now the team was in Kansas City, they could "start to feel the genuine World Cup excitement".

"Obviously, we still have a few more days until our first game, but this is where the real work begins," he added.

"This is going to be our home for the next six weeks, hopefully, and I am looking forward to getting started."

Kane said England's performance in their 3-0 victory against Costa Rica on Wednesday had been "outstanding from beginning to end" as they get ready for a tough start in Group L.

"Croatia are a challenging team," he said.

"They have shown in the last two World Cups especially that they can be among the best teams in the tournament and we need to be prepared for that," added Kane, who was part of the side that lost to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.

Tuchel, appointed with the task of winning England's first World Cup since 1966, said his players were "ready to go".

"We are acclimatised," said the German. "We have been in the country for some time. They have trained hard enough. We have experienced enough heat. We are in a good position."

The other two teams in Group L are Ghana and Panama.