England manager Thomas Tuchel has said he has been offered no explanation for Jarell Quansah’s two-match World Cup ban.
Fifa gave the England defender an upgraded suspension for “serious foul play” after Quansah was shown a red card in the win over Mexico.
It means the Bayer Leverkusen player will miss the quarter-final against Norway and a possible World Cup semi-final, should England advance.
Tuchel had been highly critical of the refereeing at the World Cup after the Mexico game, suggesting that the officials at the tournament “are just not good enough”.
But the England boss did not feel those comments played a part in Quansah’s sanction – even if he has been left without reasoning for the decision.
“I don’t think so,” he said when asked if his comments could’ve impacted the length of the ban. “We also have no explanation.”
All of Declan Rice, Marc Guehi and Reece James were able to train on match eve in a boost to Tuchel’s options.
James has been working his way back from a hamstring injury, while Rice (illness) and Guehi, with his own hamstring issue, had emerged as doubts after missing training this week.
All three could yet be available, though, as England take on Erling Haaland and Norway in Miami on Saturday evening.
“We had everyone available in training. That’s the best news,” Tuchel said. “We have the full choice except for our suspended player [Quansah].”
Jordan Henderson remains in England camp after undergoing surgery on the serious arm injury suffered in the celebrations of the win over Mexico.
