The Chelsea midfielder, who spent last season on loan at Crystal Palace, has justfour caps to his name and is not alone in having no previous major tournament experience in Southgate’s 23-man squad.
However, hopes that England could defy low expectations in Russia have been boosted by promising performances in warm-up friendly wins over Nigeria and Costa Rica.
“Gareth portrays a relaxed atmosphere, a confident atmosphere — the players can feel it and that he has the utmost faith in us,” said Loftus-Cheek on Friday.
“We’ve played some really good football, got some good results, coming into this World Cup and everyone is confident.”
In stark contrast to previous tournaments, where England squads have kept their distance from a critical media, players and journalists have so far mixed happily in Russia.