World Cup 2018: 4 Reasons Why England Could Go All The Way
With their final warm-up game – a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica – over and done with, England are now heading to the WC 2018 in Russia in buoyant mood. Gareth Southgate’s side are now unbeaten in their last 10 games, which includes matches with Germany, Brazil and Italy.
The question now becomes, how far can they actually go in the tournament itself? 2014 of course saw the Three Lions eliminated in the group stage, but this year promises a lot more – particularly as England’s group looks substantially weaker than it did in Brazil.
Most fans would be thankful for an appearance in the quarter-finals, but could England really go all the way? Here are 4 reasons that suggest they somehow might.
#1 Their players are benefiting from world-class coaching
Following England’s abject failure at Euro 2016 and the failure of the Premier League’s biggest clubs in 2015/16’s Champions League, the focus going into 2016/17 seemed odd as it centred more around the big-name coaches flocking to England’s top flight rather than the tremendous players on feature.
The Premier League’s top clubs could suddenly boast a great deal of the world’s best coaches – Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, Antonio Conte and Mauricio Pochettino. And two years down the line, it looks like England’s players are benefiting hugely from the world-class coaching they’ve been receiving recently.
The Tottenham foursome of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Danny Rose have burst onto the international scene largely thanks to Pochettino; Raheem Sterling, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Fabian Delph have improved immeasurably since working with Guardiola at Manchester City; Klopp has helped with the development of Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool while Jesse Lingard and Ashley Young’s careers have been rejuvenated at Manchester United under Mourinho.
For perhaps the first time going into a tournament, England’s players seem ready for top-level international football and while Gareth Southgate’s own coaching methods must take some of the credit, the improvement thanks to world-class club coaching cannot go ignored.
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