England sense this is their best chance for glory

England v Senegal: Round of 16 - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Jude Bellingham
Getty Images
Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP8 December 2022
WEST END FINAL

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THERE would be no national shame in England losing to world champions France in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final, but for the players there would be a crushing sense of disappointment.

At the last World Cup, the England dressing room was delighted to have reached a semi-final against the odds, but here in Qatar nothing short of dethroning the French would be considered a success.

There is a sense in the camp, driven by senior players such as Harry Kane and Harry Maguire, that England’s time is now. The squad has learned valuable lessons from the near misses four years ago, when they lost to Croatia in extra-time, and at last summer’s European Championship, which ended with an agonising defeat to Italy on penalties in the final.

While previous squads were burdened by past failures and the heavy weight of expectation, Gareth Southgate’s current group have only been spurred on by falling short. The squad have kept their runners-up medals from the Euros as motivation.

Southgate now has a united group, packed full of players at their peak, while most of their young players are tournament-hardened, having been at the Euros. And Southgate appears to be developing impressively as a coach, gradually shedding a reputation for being conservative and too pragmatic.

As it stands, his side are the joint-top scorers in Qatar after four matches, with 12 goals from eight different players, and they have generally approached games on the front foot.

If he was slow to respond against Croatia and Italy, the manager has also shown an encouraging ability to impact the course of matches with tactical tweaks and substitutions, although this skill will be tested to the limit by a France packed with options and boasting a proven winner in the opposite dugout in Didier Deschamps.

Even the schedule favours England, who have had five days’ rest between the last-16 win over Senegal and this weekend’s match.

Going into the game England have momentum and a sense of purpose, of something extra, that teams who win major tournaments always possess.

This will not be their last chance — but for Southgate and many of his players there may never be a better one.

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