England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed that his team will be highly motivated to finish their World Cup campaign in as strong a fashion as possible today when they face Russia in the third place play off.
While the Three Lions boss did admit that it has been a tough few days after sides heartbreaking semi-final defeat to Croatia, he also stated that his side will be doing everything they can to beat Roberto Martinez’s men, so they can become the first English side since the legendary 1966 team to win a medal at a World Cup.
”Emotionally it has been a difficult few days but the players are incredible. They are a pleasure to work with. They have an energy and desire.’’ Southgate told the press on Friday.
“We want to finish the tournament well. We have set a standard of how we work and how we play and we want to aspire to that level every time we go out.
“We have high motivation to perform. We have a chance to win a medal at a World Cup, which only one other English team has ever done.
“There is a lot of motivation for us and Belgium have already beaten us, so we would like to address that as well.”