World Cup 2018: 5 reasons why England will win the World Cup
Nobody saw it coming three weeks ago when the tournament got going, but England are now just third favourites with the bookmakers for the World Cup title going into the quarterfinals.
Prior to the tournament, there was probably less pressure on England then there ever has been heading into a World Cup. The country has become used to failure, having seen The Three Lions fail to win a single knockout match since 2006 prior to the game with Colombia.
They failed to qualify for the European Championships in 2008, went out to Germany in the round of 16 in 2010, before a familiar penalty shootout defeat to Italy at the Euros in 2012. In 2014, England put in their worst ever World Cup performance, going out in the group stage, before suffering an embarrassing exit at the hands of Iceland at the European Championships in France two years ago.
This time things have been different, and the whole country is behind England as they head into a quarter-final with Sweden. Manager Gareth Southgate said the game with Colombia was England’s biggest for a decade, but the quarter-final could be their biggest since 1996.
Harry Kane scored the late winner against Tunisia, before grabbing a hat-trick as England dismantled Panama 6-1. They made wholesale changes for their final group stage match with Belgium, and that played a part as they lost 1-0. That has proved to be a blessing in disguise though, as England ended up in the weaker side of the draw.
They are now just two wins from the final, and the nation believes something special may be happening. Here are five reasons why football could be coming home.
#1 Harry Kane is on fire
When Kane returned home from the Euros in France two years ago having failed to find the net, there were questions asked over whether he was capable of doing the business at a major tournament. But he has silenced his doubters in the last couple of weeks and leads the race for the golden boot with six goals in just three appearances. He is England’s main man, and has proved his worth in Russia this summer.
Kane is in brilliant form and looks almost unstoppable in front of goal. He has only had six shots on target during the World Cup and scored six goals. There is still a feeling that there is more to come from him, as he probably hasn’t had as many chances created for him as he does at Tottenham. We have seen more than one side to his game as well. Against Sweden, he held the ball up brilliantly and did an excellent job of bringing others into play. If England are to go all the way, he will have to keep up this form.