England facing defensive crisis with Reece James and Jarell Quansah to miss last-32 clash with DR Congo – as Thomas Tuchel vows to entertain the kids in early kick-off

Thomas Tuchel is ready to go from Happy Hour to Happy Meal as England seek to entertain the nation’s children in tomorrow’s early kick-off.After his Three Lions opened their World Cup campaign with a thrilling, late night 4-2 victory over Croatia in Dallas, the German joked that ‘people in the pubs will like this’.And with England taking on DR Congo in the 5pm slot in the do-or-die round of 32 clash in Atlanta, Tuchel was asked if this was an opportunity to put on a dinner-time show for the kids, who may have been in bed for each of their group matches.’We would love to entertain them,’ the former Chelsea boss said – but warned that a fraught evening may be in store in living rooms across the country.’Maybe we need to define entertainment,’ he added. ‘We don’t know what’s coming and I don’t want to ruin expectations. ‘Everyone wants to play exciting football and fun football, but it can also be entertaining if you feel the spirit and the energy of the team. Hopefully, everyone is allowed to watch tomorrow because they have to go to bed early normally. Hopefully, they feel the spirit and how much it means to this team. I see it every day, I feel it every day, and hopefully we can transmit it through the TVs and make them proud and happy.’ Thomas Tuchel is hoping to entertain England’s children in the early kick-off against DR CongoOn a more sober note, Tuchel confirmed that both Jarell Quansah and Reece James would not be in the squad for the closed-roof clash against the Africans, as England’s full-back curse continues. However, he said that both had come close to making the cut.’Jarell is a little bit ahead of Reecey but the race was close to make it into match squad this time, so we need to make sure that we have more matches,’ he said. ‘They will be available very soon.’Tuchel was also asked if he felt the pressure and weight of public expectation, given England’s enduring 60-year wait to become champions and gave an impressive, detailed response.’It’s a full press conference, so immediately you know that the pressure is on,’ he initially joked. ‘It brings out the very best in us. I love these situations, I love it. I feel it is a privilege. I think we can just accept it – we are the favourites. We play against our very own expectations, we expect from us to go further than round of 32, that’s just how it is, so why would our fans not expect it? Why would the public opinion not be the same? That’s just what it is. We prepared in the best way possible…we just need to be the best version of ourselves. We don’t need anything extra but trust and belief in ourselves that we have what it takes. Anything can happen – that’s why we love this match. So we just accept the situation as it is and go from here.’In a recent interview with James Corden, star man Jude Bellingham disclosed that he would ‘love to be James Bond’ at some stage. A reporter suggested Die Another Day could be a decent title for Wednesday’s knockout fixture. ‘I wasn’t clever enough or spontaneous enough to come up with that,’ admitted Tuchel, ‘but yes – Die Another Day.’How much is David Beckham set to pocket from his World Cup brand deals? Take on our quiz in our newsletter HERE.