Reece James trains alone again in race to be fit for England’s World Cup quarter-final showdown with Erling Haaland and Norway

England are sweating on the fitness of Reece James before meeting Erling Haaland’s Norway in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final.

The Chelsea right back did not train with Thomas Tuchel’s squad in Kansas City on Wednesday, sitting the session out alongside Declan Rice and Marc Guehi.

James has not featured since the second group game, a goalless draw against Ghana, and there remains hope that he can prove his fitness ahead of the trip to Miami.

Rice and Guehi were following their own training programmes to manage their load after the gruelling night in Mexico on Sunday and are expected to be available this weekend.

There are uncertainties over the weather before Norway however, with forecasts predicting thunderstorms in Miami before and after kick-off.

England’s victory in Mexico City was postponed by an hour due to storms and the Three Lions could be heading for more delays in Florida.

Reece James is still training alone in a race against time to be fit for England’s clash with Norway on Saturday

Temperatures are predicted to reach 34 degrees, with intermittent storms from 2pm – three hours ahead of kick off. Matches are delayed by half an hour as soon as a strike of lightning is recorded within an eight-mile radius of the stadium.

Tuchel is preparing different ways to stop Haaland but Morgan Rogers admitted that completely thwarting the Manchester City forward is near impossible after his double against Brazil.

‘Has anyone ever stopped Erling Haaland?’ Rogers said. ‘I’m not sure they have. You’re in awe of how good he is and the level he’s at. We’ll have to work on how the ball gets into him.

‘It takes a whole team effort to stop their supply line. We’ll try to nullify him as best as possible. You’re never surprised if Erling scores two and wins a game. It’ll be difficult.’

Nico O’Reilly, Guehi, Rice and Jude Bellingham are all on a booking before the tie, while Jordan Henderson has wanted to stay with the squad after surgery on a broken wrist.

‘That shows what he’s like as a person,’ Rogers added. ‘I think hopefully he can still be involved. He will not rule himself out. He always puts his ego to one side, he always puts us first and tries to help every player in the best way possible.’

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