- England striker Ollie Watkins believes the impact of substitutes will be crucial in the World Cup, a role he is ready to embrace, particularly given the challenging playing conditions.
- Watkins scored England’s final goal in their 3-0 warm-up victory over Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday, marking their last friendly before the tournament begins.
- He was among several players introduced from the bench, including Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Morgan Rogers, who injected renewed intensity into the game as the opposition tired.
- The England manager is expected to rely on fresh legs from the bench to influence matches, especially with the tournament being played in hot conditions and at varying altitudes.
- England will conclude their pre-tournament camp with a behind-closed-doors friendly against Miami FC, followed by some downtime before relocating to their Kansas City base ahead of their opening World Cup match against Croatia on 17 June, then Ghana and Panama.
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