MX23RW : Saturday, April 20 03:32:22| >> :600:201833:201833:

Gareth Southgate urges England to enjoy "festival of football" at 2018 World Cup

Southgate: 'World Cup is a festival'
© Reuters
Gareth Southgate wants his England players to soak in the "carnival" atmosphere at the 2018 World Cup and see the tournament in Russia as a "festival of football".

Gareth Southgate has urged England's players to soak in the "carnival" atmosphere at the World Cup and see the tournament as a "festival of football".

The Three Lions are preparing for their first game at the competition, Monday night's Group G encounter against Tunisia in Volgograd.

Expectations for England are relatively low in Russia given a decade of disappointing results at tournament level as well as Southgate's selection of a young team.

However, the former Middlesbrough manager is eager to remove the kind of pressure which has plagued past England teams and stressed the importance of making the most of the occasion.

"When I have been at World Cups before, whether working with the media or following the games scouting, there is a kind of carnival of football out there that sometimes as a player you don't access and don't feel part of," Southgate told BBC Sport.

"We have got to feel that it is a festival of football that you are fully involved in, and look to play as well as we can.

"I think having watched the Spain-Portugal game, these are the sort of games that announce the tournament is under way. The players enjoyed watching it and it brought energy to our hotel."

After the Tunisia clash, England will go on to face Panama and Belgium in their other Group G ties.

ID:328521: cacheID:328521:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2319:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
England manager Gareth Southgate on June 2, 2018
Read Next:
Southgate: 'England must be resilient'
>
Read more about Gareth Southgate Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
2Arsenal32225575264971
3Liverpool32218372314171
4Aston Villa33196868491963
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham33139115258-648
9Chelsea31138106152947
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves32127134651-543
12Fulham33126154951-242
13Bournemouth32119124757-1042
14Crystal Palace3289153754-1733
15Brentford3388174758-1132
16Everton3298153248-1627
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3379174258-1626
18Luton TownLuton3367204670-2425
19Burnley3348213368-3520
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3237223084-5416


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!