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1 June: England flew from Luton to their pre-tournament base in Miami. Two
members of the standby list (John Stones and Jon Flanagan) travelled
with the 23-man squad.
2 June: The squad's first training session, at Barry University, had to be
cancelled because the ground was waterlogged. All of the outfield
players had a light indoor session, instead, whilst the goalkeepers
trained outside.
3 June: England trained at the Sun Life Stadium, where they would play
Ecuador and Honduras in warm-up games.
4 June: Raheem Sterling was sent
off in England's 2-2 draw with Ecuador for a
dangerous challenge that provoked a violent reaction from Manchester
United's Antonio Valencia, who also received the red card. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
went off with an injury in the second half.
"...an enjoyable afternoon in the heat and humidity of
Miami...
Ross Barkley
earned a decidedly mixed review from Roy Hodgson for a performance that
showcased his raw talent...saying that Barkley "lost the ball an awful
lot of times as well." - The
Times
5 June: A scan revealed that Oxlade-Chamberlain had strained his medial knee
ligament and he now faced an anxious few days to see if he would have to
withdraw from the squad.
6 June: Raheem Sterling gave an inspired performance in training at Barry
University, to redeem himself following his red card against Ecuador.
"...Hodgson maintained...that the Liverpool winger is
in his thoughts for a starting role against Italy.
"His reaction
to the red card has been excellent. He was unstoppable at times in
training. Some of the things he did out there were breathtaking..."
- The Times
7 June: England's goalless draw with Honduras included a 43-minute hold-up
due to a thunderstorm and featured some ferocious tackling from the
Central Americans.
"That's something which we probably have learnt,"
Hodgson said. "The whole idea of playing Peru, Ecuador and Honduras was
to show us something very different...I was very pleased with the way
the players kept their discipline, kept their shape."
- The Times
8
June: The squad flew to Rio de Janeiro, their base for the tournament,
with Oxlade-Chamberlain, but without Stones and Flanagan.
9 June: England held their first training session at Forte de Urca and
appeared to be preparing well for the hot and humid conditions that they
would encounter in their opening game in Manaus.
10
June: Danny Welbeck picked up a thigh injury and missed half of the
training session which ended with penalty practice where players had to
aim for one of five holes in netting that covered the goal.
11
June: Welbeck missed training, as a precaution, whilst Oxlade-Chamberlain
continued his rehabilitation in private, expecting to miss, at least,
the first two games.
12
June: The squad flew to Manaus.
13
June: Roy Hodgson implied that he would not be naming Sterling and Barkley
in the starting eleven against Italy:
"These are the players who don't have the baggage to
carry with them, they are exciting talents with fantastic potential, but
you have to be careful that we don't throw them into the lions' den too
early and we have to be aware that the World Cup is a little bit
special."
[Sterling played for the full ninety minutes]
- The Times
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