England’s forward line can be the best in the world and THAT’S why we can dare to dream

CAN we dare to dream?

When I analyse England I don’t think the team is quite good enough yet. I say yet, because I believe they are close.

I’ve watched our recent games back in detail to prepare for covering the tournament and what must be remembered is every team in the competition has its flaws and issues.

Germany have lost experienced players to retirement, and looked well off the pace when beaten by Mexico yesterday. Spain axed their manager the day before the tournament began.

At the minute everyone is obsessed with saying England’s midfield has a lack of creativity. But a lot of teams are not as strong as they used to be, missing a few key figures, or with a bit of a shaky defence.

I tend to look at the positives, and that is our forward line. It can be the best in the world if we click and find the right channels to provide Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Co.

So we can dare to dream. We can expect a positive competition.

This England team can be one we are proud of for once. One reason for this is the impeccable way in which Gareth Southgate has handled the build up. He has been cool, calm, diplomatic and said all the right things. I had a good chat with him about his thoughts and methods. What I like is he has seen tournament football from all angles as a player. He has played and been a big part of it, and been on the bench.

He understands from bottom to top in the way a star player who started every game and was the main man on the pitch may not. He sees all the elements.

Then there is the tactical side. He’s not scared to experiment, such as by putting Kyle Walker on the right side of a back three. That insight has developed over many years as a coach. Obviously he needs luck too. And in the heat of the battle, he needs big decisions to come off – those late tactical changes or substitutions when losing, making big calls under pressure in a game.

He is a thinker. His emotions are there. But he is constantly analysing rather than getting over-emotional.

I think he will understand the key issue is about our defence. We don’t want to overplay. Minimise the risk in certain areas.

He won’t be fazed by making big decisions with a calm head. That is another reason for us to dare to dream.