England midfielder Eric Dier has claimed that his side will have a bigger target on their backs following their unexpected run to the semi-finals of the World Cup this summer.
The Three Lions recorded their best finish at a World Cup since 1990 in Russia, and will return to action for the first time since then on Saturday when they host Spain at Wembley.
Dier believes that England will be regarded as more of a scalp now and challenged his teammates to build on their rousing World Cup displays.
"The more successful you are as a team, the more of a target you become. Do teams see beating us a scalp now? Yes. Having got to the semi-finals and played the tournament we had, we gained more respect from the footballing world. The hardest thing now is to maintain that respect and earn even more. That's what we are trying to do," he told the Evening Standard.
"We had a very positive World Cup and we need to build on that, get better and really keep improving. We need to maintain that high level over a long period of time to be in the top bracket. Spain had a difficult World Cup but they are still one of the best footballing nations.
"We want to compete against, and beat, the best. Even though our World Cup was so positive, we still feel like we need to prove ourselves against the best teams. It is very difficult to manage expectations, but it is up to us to do that. Hopefully we will do so."
England's World Cup performances means that they go into this weekend's match placed three spots above Spain in the latest FIFA rankings.
Barney Corkhill
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