England goalkeeper Joe Hart has claimed that it is imperative for the team to go into next summer's Euro 2016 finals in France believing that they can set the tournament "alight".
Roy Hodgson's Three Lions have a 100% record in their qualifying campaign having won eight matches in a row.
Following disappointing spells for England in the Rugby World Cup and Cricket World Cup, Hart believes that the nation's footballers need to show what they are capable of.
"Our ultimate aim is to go to the tournament next year and win it, but talk is cheap, as we've proven in the past," The Express quotes Hart as saying.
"If you spoke to the players in all three sports I'd imagine they went into the tournaments thinking they had a good chance of winning it. We take sport very seriously in this country - throw everything at it. So if we don't succeed there are no excuses.
"The next eight months are to show each other what we are capable of as a team. For Roy to be very comfortable with the team he has got, we need to go into the tournament with the belief we can really set it alight."
England will round off their qualifying campaign with games against Estonia and Lithuania over the next few days.
Danielle Joynson
