Southampton monitored Middlesbrough before beating them in the Championship play-off semi-finals, and manager Thomas Tuchel is keen to prevent England’s opponents from doing the same during the World Cup.
FA leaders plan to install special security around World Cup training bases to prevent a repeat of the Spygate incident in the United States. England manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed he is already considering protection around Kansas City’s training ground ahead of his departure on June 1.
Southampton were kicked out of the Championship play-offs after the EFL imposed the final sanction when they were caught spying on Middlesbrough before the semi-final. England will face Croatia, Panama and Ghana this summer, and Tuchel clearly wants to prevent anyone from spying on their training methods and sessions.
They will be based in Kansas City for the duration of the tournament and will install some additional screens as the pitches are wide open. “Of course we will resolve it,” Tuchel said.
“In the best possible way, not in a crazy way. That’s the way it is. As you all know, Argentina had the first option of choosing a very remote, high-end facility in Kansas.
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“As always, I try to influence what I can influence. We’re very happy with the training facilities, especially what the FA and all the directors have built from here.”
“I think it meets all of our needs. But I agree that it can be ignored. I think we’ll have safety there and build a little bit of protection.”
“Of course, when you train with minus one, you don’t want your opponents to know because it’s very important to build up your team, play set pieces and finish with penalties. It just gives you a decisive advantage. So we try to be as private as possible.”
Tuchel also said team psychologist Rich Hampson had helped run tests to see if players had a “brotherhood” to the team at this summer’s tournaments. Asked about the availability of psychologists, Tuchel added: “They are just part of the process and they are listening to us.”
“They’re more or less just part of the formal meetings. They’re listening to us. They’re hearing how we talk about the players, how we talk about building the team. And he’s part of our staff.”
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Southampton banned from play-offs for spying (Image: Getty Images)
“Rich is part of our youth team and develops and observes our communication, behavior, behavior within the group, behavior within the match, compares it to other national teams at the highest level and shows us where we need to improve.”
Meanwhile, Tuchel has revealed that he has placed players on a secret waiting list, but they will have to pass his phone test. Coach Tuchel called about 50 players over three days before naming the 26-member U.S. squad for this summer’s World Cup.
They will fly to Florida for a pre-competition training camp on June 1st, with Arsenal players expected to report at a later date after the Champions League final. Alex Scott, Rio Ngmoha and Josh King will also be part of the training group, with another youngster to follow, but Tuchel admitted he has a number of possibilities in mind should one of the 26 players drop out due to injury.
But Tuchel said the ultimate test will be whether he will be able to answer the phone while on holiday and whether he will be on the next flight even if he is in Australia. They need to be on a 55-man longlist and FIFA will only announce the final 26 on June 2, although there are special last-minute exceptions in case someone is injured.
“First of all, we don’t want anyone to get injured, but we are aware of the possibility of bringing players in. The players all know that,” Tuchel said.
“The language on the phone was a little different than with players who were coming up on a phone call, so we said, ‘Listen, you’re very high on the list, but we’re not making any commitments.’
“I still think that who you play as a central defender or who you have to replace as a midfielder can make a big difference. So you can’t just say, ‘Okay, I’ll choose you,’ and I didn’t do that. The wording was a little different.”
“The players who were close and, to be completely honest, the reaction of the players to the disappointment were also a factor, because we learned a lot yesterday with all the calls.
“And that just gave me confidence. When we make a call, who’s going to be willing to pick up the phone, even if they’re in Australia on vacation? Really, who’s going to be ‘where do I have to be when?’
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