Daily Mail

Key to success is in our heads, says Lingard

- by SAMI MOKBEL @SamiMokbel­81_DM

JESSE Lingard believes England have got the firepower to shock the world in russia.

The Manchester United star will be rewarded for his excellent performanc­es against Holland and italy in March with another place in the starting line-up against nigeria today.

Manager gareth Southgate is set to select a strong side at Wembley for the first of two World Cup warm-up games.

The fact that Lingard will start suggests that the 25-year-old is a strong contender to play in the tournament opener against Tunisia on June 18.

England know they must rebuild this country’s tattered reputation following the poor showings at the last World Cup and Euro 2016.

despite those past disappoint­ments, Lingard insists Southgate’s men can come home from russia with the trophy.

‘Can we win the World Cup? Yes,’ he said yesterday. ‘There’s a lot of quality in the team and, like the manager says, everyone brings their own attributes. if we can combine those together in the perfect way then we can go far. But we have to be realistic.

‘Our heads have got to be fully right on the World Cup. We’ve got to prepare right to go as far as we can.’

Today’s starting Xi will provide major clues as to who will face Tunisia in England’s opening group game in Volgograd on June 18. The players believe Everton’s Jordan Pickford has won the race with Jack Butland to start in goal.

Southgate has continued his experiment of deploying Kyle Walker — a full back by trade — on the right side of a back three during training.

The defender could be utilised in the position today alongside his Manchester City team-mate John Stones, who will play in the middle. gary Cahill and Harry Maguire are vying for the slot on the left.

Manchester United defender Phil Jones is unavailabl­e as he is attending the birth of his child.

Eric dier is set to start in central midfield, though Southgate is understood to be keen on seeing Fabian delph in his preferred role in the middle of the park at some stage. ruben Loftus-Cheek and dele alli are vying for the other central midfield slot.

Sterling, despite arriving late for England’s training camp, is a contender to play in the front three, probably alongside Lingard and Harry Kane.

Kieran Trippier and ashley Young are likely to start as wingbacks. as has become the norm, Southgate kept his players guessing yesterday. Previous England managers have tended to name the team at least 24 hours before matches to give players time to mentally prepare for the game.

But Southgate said: ‘ Every manager is different, every situation is different. There might be times when i would name the team earlier, because that’s the right thing to do. But what’s important is that we focus on the whole group, making sure that they understand their jobs.

‘We have clarity on what we are trying to do, but there could be something that happens overnight that disrupts the balance.

‘We need to focus on the 23, not just the starting Xi. at their clubs, i think the players are used to the squads being announced very late.’

Lingard added: ‘it doesn’t really bother me when the team is selected. i think it’s good that everyone is right in their own mind to be ready for the game, whether you’re starting or not.’

 ?? REX ?? Happy camp: Lingard puts his arms round Sterling in training
REX Happy camp: Lingard puts his arms round Sterling in training
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