The World Cup is finally underway, although England fans still have to wait a few more days to see their team in action, but Jesse Lingard has revealed that Gareth Southgate has told his players to ‘play without fear’ when they eventually get going.
The Three Lions get their World Cup campaign underway on Monday evening when they take on Tunisia in their opening group G game, a group from which they are expected to qualify.
However, those English fans among our readers will know that what England are expected to do at major tournaments and what they actually do are often two different things, with the pressure from fans and media often getting too much for the players, before ultimately crashing out.
This year though seems to have a different feeling, with there being very little hype or expectation surrounding Gareth Southgate’s young side, and Manchester United playmaker Jesse Lingard has revealed that the England boss has told the team to ‘play with freedom’ and ‘without fear’:
“Southgate has come in with the mentality to play with freedom, play without fear, and you will enjoy your time more,” Lingard told the media.
“So, as a group of players, that is what we are going to do – enjoy our football, play with no fear and play exciting football at the same time.
“Of course, we want to go all the way to the final, but we are going to take each game as it comes and prepare for each game as we normally do.”