England will arrive in Russia this summer as one of the tournament’s youngest and inexperienced sides. And with the country’s previous golden generation failing to win any trophy, fans have lowered their expectations about this team.
In fact booking a place in the quarter finals will be regarded as a great achievement for Gareth Southgate’s young lions.
But midfielder Jesse Lingard believes the team can still go far.
“As a group there’s a lot of expectation – we believe we can go far,” he says. “The manager is giving us the freedom to go out and express ourselves on the pitch and play without any pressure.” He said during an interview with FourFour Two.
“That has to be our mindset. We shouldn’t worry about anything off the pitch. We’re going to be mentally and tactically prepared to take on the test, and have a good mix of youth and experience. This is a tightly knit group, so I think our team spirit and togetherness will pull us through.”