Gareth Southgate believes England have the winning mentality to beat the world champions - and insisted they are not ready to go home.
The Three Lions boss was bullish ahead of England’s World Cup quarter-final with France as he believes the players are ready for the biggest win of their careers. Southgate says he has seen the whole squad grow throughout the tournament - and insists they are equipped to go all the way this time.
Southgate said: “The biggest thing for me in the game is going to be our mentality. Of course, we'll be tactically prepared. But on these nights, you’ve got to have men that stand up and take on the challenge. That’s the bit that we’ve got to prove to people.
“We’ve had some outstanding nights and the next game is always the most important. It’s against a good level of opponent, one we’re ready for. The sun will come up tomorrow and life will be the same whatever happens. I am just excited by the challenge.
“It is not the stage where we are ready to go home. It is not the point where we are thinking of going home. Always, these nights are always nights that bring millions of people together. They will remember where they were and we want to give them another night to be proud of.”
England reached the World Cup semi-finals four years ago and the Euros final a year ago but face the World Cup holders, which will be a step up in class.
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Southgate says his players will have learned from their recent experiences and he also declared they will go out to attack. Southgate added: “If you’d asked me four years ago, 'Were we quite ready?', I’m not sure. Now, I feel differently about that and that’s because we’ve got evidence over a long period of results.
“Historically, we have always talked well, but the evidence wasn’t there. Now, we’ve got more evidence and we’ve got to go and nail this type of game now. There is no point going into a game like this and just covering up and sitting on the ropes.
“We believe we can cause problems with the ball and we intend to do that. We know we have the experience of high-pressure nights behind us and as a team, we’ve been resilient through a lot of situations but they all prepare you for nights like this.”
