England manager Thomas Tuchel gave his players permission for an offsite family day on Tuesday as the squad recharged after their euphoric win over Mexico.
The team were allowed to leave their hotel in Prairie Village, near Kansas City, with many of them using the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones away from their World Cup camp.
The pass from Tuchel extended into the evening with many having dinner with their partners before returning to camp for the team’s first training session on Wednesday as they prepare for the World Cup quarter final against Norway on Saturday.
Tuchel has given his players two days off since Sunday’s 3-2 win in Mexico City – a result and performance that many have described as England’s best World Cup performance since the final of 1966.
But there have been concerns about how mentally and physically taxing the game at the Azteca Stadium – coupled with the four games prior to the win over Mexico – has been for the players given the game was played in high altitude.
Sources have indicated the team’s final training session ahead of the game versus Mexico was mainly a walkthrough of the team’s shape rather than any physical exertion with Tuchel increasingly aware of conserving energy heading into the latter stages of the tournament.
Indeed, Tuchel is hopeful that allowing his players to unwind away from the team camp on Tuesday will ease the strain on his squad ahead of the clash versus the Norwegians in Miami.
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