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England fullback Kyle Walker has claimed that their 2022 FIFA World Cup squad is better than their golden generation and have earned some arrogance.
The golden generation of England had players like Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and other legends of the game. However, they failed to perform for their country at big tournaments.
Meanwhile, the current crop of the Three Lions have reached the semi-finals and finals of their previous two major tournaments.
Going into the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, they struggled with poor form. However, with the quality of players they possess, people still have high expectations from Gareth Southgate's side.
Walker believes that they have earned this expectation and need to continue to be confident and a little arrogant, as he told The Sun:
"We’ve earned the right to have more expectation and that’s not a bad thing. When you have expectations it means you are a good team. "There’s a very fine line between confidence and arrogance."
He added:
"We have to be confident and we need to take a little bit of arrogance into the game. You go out there with your chest out and your head held high and you walk out there thinking ‘we’re going to win today’. If you are doubting yourself you are losing the game already. So expectation is good. But we need to be calm, we need to be together."
Walker admitted that in tournaments like the FIFA World Cup, they will face big challenges in games but need to remain together:
"Through 90 minutes it’s never going to go swimmingly well. There are going to be periods when you are going to have to weather the storm and you have to do that collectively as a team."
The Manchester City defender also claimed that England's current squad is more talented than their golden generation:
"You see the likes of Phil Foden, Mason Mount, Jack Grealish, Declan Rice. These players are not as what we've seen growing up from the England team, where it's all about ‘you wear your heart on your sleeve and you go out and your hard work gets you through’."
He added:
"That's no disrespect to any of the players - Wayne Rooney, Joe Cole, David Beckham - these players had an array of talent but probably not as much talent as these have got. It's a joy that the English game is actually developing in that way."
Walker is returning from a groin injury and will hope to help England achieve their goals at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
England's upcoming fixtures at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
The Three Lions registered a dominant 6-2 win over Iran in their tournament opener on November 21. They now sit at the top of Group B and are the only team in the group with three points.
They will next face the USA, who drew against Wales in their 2022 FIFA World Cup opener, on Friday, November 25. A win against the Stars and the Stripes would secure qualification to the knockout rounds for England.
England will finish their 2022 FIFA World Cup group-stage fixtures against Wales on November 29.
