IAN LADYMAN: After heartbreak vs Croatia and Italy, England must stand tall vs World Champions

Gareth Southgate is so sure of what his England team can deliver against France tonight that he decided his line-up on Monday.

‘We had already watched all the games of France and we had already reviewed our game against Senegal,’ he revealed yesterday. ‘We’re very clear that we are on the right path.’

For the England manager, it was not always like this and for pretty much the first time yesterday he admitted it.

Gareth Southgate (left) is so confident in his team that he picked his starting XI on Monday

England will play World Champions France in the quarter finals at the World Cup on Saturday

Southgate may have said all the right things as he took England to the semi-finals of the last World Cup in Russia four and a half years ago, but deep down he was less sure his players were really ready. As it turned out, they were not. Croatia came from behind to beat them.

‘If you’d asked me four years ago were we quite ready, I’m not sure,’ said Southgate. ‘Now I feel differently because we’ve got evidence over a long period of results.

‘Historically we have always talked well, but the evidence wasn’t there. Now we’ve got more evidence and we’ve got to go and nail this type of game now.’

The result will show if Southgate and England have learnt from their loss to Croatia in 2018 

England must learn from their difficult loss to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals

England are at the crossroads of this World Cup. Lose tonight at the Al Bayt Stadium, in which they must be starting to feel familiar, and it would be pertinent to ask who of quality they have actually beaten out here in the Gulf.

But a victory over the defending champions would propel England towards what would arguably be a more palatable semi-final with Portugal or Morocco.

So for Southgate and his players, tonight’s game has a moment-of-truth feel about it. Have England really learned the lessons of failures against Croatia and then Italy in last summer’s Euros final? They led in both games yet lost.

‘The biggest thing for me in the game is going to be our mentality,’ said Southgate. ‘Of course we will be tactically prepared. But on these nights you’ve got to have men that stand up and take on the challenge. That’s the bit that we’ve got to prove to people.

Southgate (R) admitted he has confidence in his players but they need to step up mentally

The Three Lions have plenty of individual players with big-match experience in their squad

‘This is knockout football. I have got confidence in the players. I think we are in a good place. But I also think we have got to step up mentally.

‘That is the biggest aspect for me that we are trying to hit this week. We have got individual players with big-match experience and to be honest I have no fear about the young ones because I think they are just going to go and play.

‘In big games, in the end, big players step up and they can be decisive.’

England will need to be somewhere near their best this evening. They have been impressive enough during this tournament without yet producing a complete 90-minute performance. 

England’s defenders and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (pictured) will need to up their game 

They face-off against a destructive trio of players spearheaded by Olivier Giroud (pictured)

Certainly their level will need to be higher tonight on an occasion when goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and the defensive line in front of him will face a new and more sophisticated threat.

For context, it is worth considering the forwards who have faced England during games against Iran, USA, Wales and Senegal. They have come from clubs as diverse as Porto, Lille, Antalyaspor, Bournemouth, Los Angeles, Salernitana and Watford.

Tonight the French four of Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele have the colours of AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in their corner, so the upgrade is clear.

Kyle Walker will also be marking superstar Kylian Mbappe (left) during the knockout match

Harry Maguire (right) did show signs of vulnerability in England’s 3-0 win against Senegal 

Harry Maguire, as impressive as he has been in Qatar, did show signs of early vulnerability against Senegal. His passing was particularly erratic. If that were to happen again tonight, England are likely to have to score two or more goals to win.

‘This is the latter stages now and the levels are always going to go up,’ said Pickford, who will win his 50th cap tonight.

‘We know it is a step up in opponents. They have some top-quality individuals but are also a top side really. We are prepared for them and ready for them.

‘Harry and John Stones have been brilliant. The defensive side of it, with the ball, without the ball, defending, the blocks they make, match-saving blocks.

Pickford (right) has been one of England’s stand-out players pulling off some excellent saves 

‘It is never in doubt with those two top-quality players. I’ve been on a journey since 2017 and they’ve been there pretty much every game I have played in. Nothing’s ever changed.’

If England’s players are looking to grow further into this World Cup, their manager is already having a fine month in the desert. 

Southgate has proved himself more flexible in terms of tactics and personnel here in Qatar than he ever has previously and that has been a surprise.

‘Well, I’d be an idiot if I hadn’t learnt something over five years managing some of the biggest games in world football, managing some of the most high-profile players in Europe,’ he said.

England will also look to star striker and captain Harry Kane to lead the line against France

Gareth Southgate (L) also admitted he’ll be a better coach in five years time than he is now

‘Going through the experience of having one of the most high-profile jobs in the country, you learn quite a lot.

‘You constantly improve as a coach. Another four or five years down the line I’ll be a better coach than I am now.’

It is fascinating to think about where Southgate will be in five years’ time. Club management beckons when he eventually walks away from his current post, but it would be no surprise to one day see him back at the FA in some executive capacity or other.

How history judges him will depend in part on what happens in the next week in Qatar.

‘I would think the sun will come up tomorrow and life will be the same whatever happens,’ he said.

For once, it was hard to agree.