Striker: Danny Welbeck could lead the line for England

‘We’ve qualified really comfortably for this and proved we are a decent team. Now the challenge is to do it on the real stage. Can we be consistent in a short space of time in difficult conditions against good opponents?

‘Being questioned is our motivation. I have belief in my team-mates. I see them in training or in the Premier League. We have not delivered previously but I think one day very soon it will click, we will get that bit of luck and will prove a lot of people wrong — not just in this country but around the world.

‘We have to stick together. It is going to be tough at times against France. We are playing a top
team. That’s the challenge. We know we are going to be solid defensively and we have confidence in that but we have to prove that we can keep the ball better.’

That is England’s real failing, not an aversion to sunshine. England do not love possession enough, so get to do a lot of chasing and, when the conditions are hot, that saps strength.

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