THE AXE FACTOR ALL TUNED UP FOR TUNISIA
BOSS FIGHTING FEAR
ENGLAND’S stars have been warned there can be no excuses if they lose to Tunisia in their World Cup opener in Volgograd tomorrow.
Tottenham full-back Danny Rose was in the side for boss Roy Hodgson (right) in their last tournament match – the disastrous Euro 2016 last-16 defeat by Iceland in Nice.
Two years on and Rose is still baffled by the way England prepared to play Iceland’s minnows.
But this time, he says, no stone has been left unturned as they take on a Tunisian side that no one in Gareth Southgate’s camp is taking for granted.
Rose – battling with Ashley Young for the left wing-back spot – said: “Some of the preparation for the Euros I would have liked to do differently, especially for the Iceland game.
“What we were doing in training was completely different to how Iceland played in the match. I can say now everything we have done in training here is exactly what we have seen in the videos from Tunisia.
“So there can be no excuses, no arguments. The gaffer has given us all the right tools to be ready for Monday.
“We’ll working hard on the game plan and after that I can assure everybody back home we’ve done everything possible to get a good start.”
Rose is hoping to start against the North Africans after a good display in England’s warm-up win over Costa Rica before flying to Russia.
But he said: “My job, if I am playing, is to prepare myself in the best way I possibly can. And if I’m not playing I have to help Ash prepare the best way he can. That’s the type of spirit we have in the squad.
“The atmosphere in the camp is brilliant and we are more than friends here.” GARETH SOUTHGATE sends his players into World Cup battle against Tunisia tomorrow telling them: “Go for it.” The England boss will give his players their final instructions after flying into Volgograd today and his positive message will be to play without fear.
Southgate said: “Whenever you represent England or any other country there’s expectation, there’s hope, you carry the dreams of a nation.
“So it’s impossible to say ‘you can go out and play without any feeling of pressure or any feeling or fear’.
“But what you have to do is make sure that doesn’t control you and that you go for it in your performances.”