Thomas Tuchel has urged his England squad to keep their composure as the side approaches their FIFA World Cup round-of-16 meeting with Mexico, despite what he described as a turbulent lead-up to the fixture.

The England manager acknowledged that the build-up to the knockout tie has been far from straightforward, but stressed that his players must not allow off-pitch distractions to cloud their focus when the two sides meet.

"Not to lose their heads" — that was Tuchel's message to his players as tensions rose ahead of one of the most high-profile last-16 encounters at the tournament.