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

Raheem Sterling has improved massively since working with Pep Guardiola

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.

Follow Sportskeeda for 2018 World Cup Scores, Latest News & Updates, Match Analysis, Detailed Stats, Fantasy Tips, Controversies, Match Predictions and much more.

#2 There’s less pressure – and fewer past scars

England's younger players like Jesse Lingard and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are not scarred by the past

Admittedly, a great deal of the players likely to start in England’s first World Cup game against Tunisia were involved in the abject loss to Iceland at Euro 2016, but outside of that, the Three Lions finally have a group of players who aren’t carrying around the scars of past failures at major tournaments.

Only five players from the disastrous 2014 World Cup campaign (Gary Cahill, Phil Jones, Danny Welbeck, Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling) remain in the squad, and this year’s squad features no less than eight players who have never featured in a tournament before.

Rather than carrying the burden of the past, this England side finally appear to be capable of playing with some freedom, with the youthful exuberance of the likes of Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford a welcome change to the usual dour mood going into a tournament.

And the fans seem to be following the same path, too – most England fans are simply hoping for the team to play some attractive football and maybe make the quarter-finals at best. With far less pressure on their shoulders – no more “England expects” – could this finally be the tournament that sees the Three Lions deliver on the big stage? You never know.

#3 Southgate has a system

Gareth Southgate seems more settled on a system than Roy Hodgson did with England

While it looked like England were mentally broken in their Euro 2016 match with Iceland, the truth about their failure at that tournament ran a little deeper. It never felt like boss Roy Hodgson was sure of what his best tactical system was, let alone the players who ought to be starting, and it meant weird experiments – Kane and Vardy as wingers, remember? – were still happening as late as their final warm-up match.

Gareth Southgate, on the other hand, seemed to settle on his system – either 3-3-2-2 or 3-5-1-1 – way back in late 2017 and since then while the personnel has changed at times, he’s pretty much stuck to his guns. In England’s two warm-up games, the players chosen were different but the system was identical and it seems like the players finally know exactly what they’re supposed to be doing – a stark contrast to the later Hodgson era.

More interestingly, Southgate has spoken about keeping a more relaxed atmosphere around England’s camp – similar to that of the Dutch side in 2014 rather than England’s usual military style – in order for the players to feel more comfortable. It all points to a boss who’s done his homework and has worked out exactly how to get the best out of his players at the tournament in order to succeed.

#4 The team is full of goals

Harry Kane has already scored 13 goals for England

One of England’s problems in recent tournaments has been a distinct lack of goals – they scored just 4 at Euro 2016, and only 2 at the 2014 World Cup, although admittedly they only played three games there. If the 2017/18 season is anything to go by though, that promises to be different in Russia.

In Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Raheem Sterling, England can boast three of the highest goalscorers in the Premier League – the trio delivered a total of 68 league goals between them this season – and the likes of Dele Alli, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard are no strangers to finding the back of the net, either.

While Sterling hasn’t been on goalscoring form at international level, the same cannot be said for Kane and Vardy. England’s new captain has already scored 13 goals for his country and has found the back of the net in three of the last four England games he’s been involved in. Vardy meanwhile has scored 7 goals for England, most recently netting in March against Italy.

With goalscorers like these in England’s side, they should have a chance at outscoring anyone in the World Cup – which means they might surprise everyone by going far.