SQUAD GOALS
GARETH SOUTHGATE gave his England squad a rabble-rousing speech as they prepared to fly to the Qatar World Cup.
To get them in the mood for glory, the Three Lions boss urged the players to seize the moment and reminded them they are one of the favourites to win the trophy.
He said they must believe in themselves and take inspiration from the recent success of reaching the semi-final in 2018 and the Euro 2020 final.
They will fly to Doha at 10am today, arriving around 5pm
local time, and then do a light training session at their Al Wakrah training base.
The FA also revealed the squad numbers for the 26 players.
Captain Harry Kane will wear the No.9, Raheem Sterling is No.10 while Kyle Walker has been given the No.2 shirt despite not being fit for Monday’s first group game with Iran.
James Maddison gets the No.25 shirt.
Phil Foden, No.20 in the squad, has revealed how he is desperate to fire England to World Cup glory to put his Euros heartbreak behind him.
The Manchester City star (inset) missed last year’s Euro 2020 final after suffering an injury in training. Foden said: “I missed probably the biggest game of my life.
“I’m just trying to keep fit and healthy – and work hard now to put the performances in for England.”
Rio Ferdinand claimed last week that anything other than a World Cup triumph would be billed as a disappointment and Foden added: “That’s the pressure we put on ourselves after doing so well in previous tournaments. That’s what we have to live with, everyone backing us.
“We have so many experienced players in the squad who have played in the biggest games and can handle this kind of pressure.”