Southgate: England are close to winning a trophy
England manager Gareth Southgate believes the Three Lions are closer to ending their wait for a first major title since 1966 than they have been for generations, with the World Cup in Qatar coming up just next year.
Southgate's side are back in action for the first time since losing the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy, with a World Cup qualifier at the Puskas Arena against Hungary tomorrow morning (Singapore time).
Reaching Qatar should be a formality for the world's No. 4 side, with expectations now to compete to win the World Cup for a second time, rather than make up the numbers.
England's fortunes have been transformed since Southgate succeeded Sam Allardyce as manager in 2016.
A first World Cup semi-final for 28 years in Russia in 2018 was followed up by reaching the European Championship final for the first time in history in July.
They may have ultimately failed to win anything, but time is on Southgate's side as he has a young squad at his disposal.
"We've always wanted to be knocking on the door in the latter stages of those competitions because you eventually get to learn how to win semi-finals and how to win finals," said Southgate.
"It's normally the process, if you look at our club teams (in European competition), that you have to go through. That's the way we view it.
"We know we were the youngest team in the last 16 (at Euro 2020), the least experienced in terms of international caps and so there's no doubt that individually, these players are going to continue to improve and that's got to be our aim as a team as well.
"We've learnt a huge amount from the wins we've had and the disappointment in the World Cup semi-final and the final this time. We're obviously a lot closer than we've been for a long, long period of time."
England have already taken maximum points from their opening three qualifiers to top Group I.
They could virtually sew up qualification by the end of next week, with matches against Andorra (home) and Poland (away) lined up following their trip to Budapest.
England skipper Harry Kane, who played a key role in their transformation under Southgate, had recently dominated the news over his failed move to Manchester City, where he had hoped to end his trophy-less run.
However, the 28-year-old insisted that he has not allowed this episode to affect his focus.
Asked if he was worried that his reputation could be tarnished, Kane told talkSPORT: "No, I don't think so. Anyone involved in the football industry knows the ins and outs and I was calm with the situation.
"It was between me and the club, when you know the truth and you know what is going on, your conscience is clear."
Kane added that his focus is to win silverware at Spurs, "and this year is no different". - AFP
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