Nobody scares us roars Lion cub Loftus-Cheek

ENGLAND are on a roll and Ruben Loftus-Cheek is loving every minute of it.

The Chelsea youngster is not fussed about the permutations, possibilities and calculations ahead of Thursday’s top of the table Group G clash with Belgium in Kaliningrad.

First or second? Moscow or Rostov? Colombia, Senegal or Japan in round two?

It doesn’t matter to Loftus-Cheek. He just wants to keep on winning, carry on enjoying himself and ride the wave of a footballing odyssey.

Like all of Gareth Southgate’s squad, he feels the renewed love of a nation enraptured by the Three Lions’ lastgasp win over Tunisia and Sundays’ six-goal romp against Panama.

Quality

He knows England expects once again – and that’s just fine by him.

Thursday’s match against opponents ranked third in FIFA rankings is, on the one hand, a free hit with England’s progress into the knockout stages guaranteed.

But it also represents a significant step up in quality. The World Cup has cranked up a gear.

Loftus-Cheek, however, insists: “We don’t want to take our foot off the gas with the performances we are putting in now,” he said.

“So if we can get the win, that would be great. We want to take the momentum into the next game.

“There is not too much pressure to win but we will prepare the same way to the previous two and we want to put on another good performance for the fans.”

Loftus-Cheek knows that optimism must be tempered by the fact that England’s two opponents so far have hardly tested them.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford hasn’t had a serious save to make. That’s almost certain to change against Belgium.

Loftus-Cheek respects Roberto Martinez’ star-studded side but doesn’t fear them.

“We are not scared of anyone,” said the 22-year-old, who could retain his place this week despite Dele Alli recovering well from the thigh injury which sidelined him two days ago.

“We’ve got some really good players and a lot of depth so there’s no reason to have any fear.

“The next game is between two sides with a lot of technical ability and skill but both know how to fight as well.

“Panama tried to make it a war but we matched that. We can play but we can also fight.”

Around 2,000 England fans have witnessed the two victories so far. Thousands more will descend on Kaliningrad – a westerly Russian enclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania – giving the players an idea of the football fever that’s gripping the country.

“As footballers, we don’t really think about that before the game because you’re focused on what you are trying to do,” he said.

“But afterwards, you realise how many people are watching and how much everyone at home is behind you. It’s a great feeling for us.”