Southgate: Fans can roar us to crucial victory

Gareth Southgate has called on the Wembley faithful to roar England towards next summer’s World Cup as they look to “take care of business” against Slovakia.

Tonight’s Group F encounter pits the table-topping Three Lions against secondplaced Slovakia, with the hosts knowing victory will put them five points clear with just two matches remaining.

Southgate believes England will be on “the cusp of being in Russia” if they play to their potential - and the Wembley crowd do their bit.

Around 70,000 are expected for a game that comes just days after the travelling support aired their frustrations over a goalless first half in Malta, where expletive-laden chants were followed by boos at the half-time whistle. England eventually ran out 4-0 winners, but Southgate did understand supporters’ annoyance and wants to give them more to shout about at Wembley. “It’s a great opportunity for us,” the England boss said at Tottenham’s training centre. “It’s a home game, we are playing good opposition, so we have got to make sure that we are tactically prepared, which we will be, but also we’ve got to have belief in the team that we’ve got. We’ve got some exciting players. We know the task we have. We know the opportunity.

“The whole country wants to be at a World Cup, so for me it is a great opportunity for the Wembley crowd to get behind us as well.

“We have a responsibility to get them on their feet, but equally everywhere we go around the world the opposition crowd really give the team a lift.

“It would be great if we get the level of support that I know that stadium can bring.”

Slovakia are unlikely to be pushovers. Adam Lallana’s last-gasp goal secured a narrow 1-0 win against Jan Kozak’s 10 men in the Group F opener in Trnava, where Sam Allardyce oversaw his first and ultimately only match as Three Lions boss.