World Cup draw 2018: England won't underestimate anyone in Russia says Gareth Southgate

The Three Lions boss insisted the key challenge for his squad is to just be ready to 'beat any country in the world', ahead of the draw in Moscow on Friday

Gareth Southgate insists England won't make the same mistakes of past tournaments (AFP)

Gareth Southgate has admitted England have too often made the mistake of “underestimating” group opponents and thinking they’ll “sail through” international tournament first rounds, as he insisted the key challenge for his squad is to just be ready to "beat any country in the world", ahead of the 2018 World Cup draw in Moscow on Friday.

The 47-year-old also said he was conscious of the recent high-profile debate about how the 2002-06 “golden generation” were too negatively affected by club rivalry, stressing it would be different for his young side.

Southgate effectively argued it doesn’t really matter who his side get in the draw at the Kremlin State Palace, mentioning how everyone had written off Costa Rica in 2014 only for they and Uruguay to eliminate England and Italy in the first round, as well as pointing to the example of Iceland in the Euro 2016 last 16.

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“I don’t think we can be thinking about who we want to avoid,” the England manager said. “We get who we get and prepare for all those games. Some teams in the past would have been a good draw - I’m thinking the likes of Sweden [in 2002 and 2006], we have a very average record against them and have found it very difficult to play against them. Very often we have underestimated countries.

“I was in Brazil scouting and I watched Costa Rica’s first two games last time, everybody had ruled them out and I was sitting there watching them celebrate qualify after two matches. We really have to be certain of our preparation for every match.

“But I also think, I’m looking at a couple of the Icelandic players who play in our league, we are really guilty of underestimating the quality of other teams. Iceland have some really good players and they’ve shown that again in qualifying and in the group they’ve qualified from.

“We’ve got to make sure that we’re guaranteed to beat any country in the world. None of these teams are a given.

“Our mindset has to be that every opponent at this tournament is a team that can beat you. Equally every opponent is a team we can beat. So the idea that there is any sailing through any game at a World Cup, and if that’s been our mentality in the past, maybe that’s why we haven’t done so well. We would rather be one of the top seeds, I think, but we are not and that’s the consequence of a few years of performance and certainly our performance in the last two tournaments.

The World Cup draw will take place in Moscow on Friday (Getty)

"But we are ready. We have been competitive in all the matches we have played but the beauty for me is that when the draw is made we can finally find out when we will be travelling to Russia and which teams we are going to prepare for.

“The draw, for me, does not determine whether we have a good or a bad tournament. It’s about how we approach each game and reaching the level of performance we need to when we get there. Although the draw is really exciting for everybody, it’s great for the supporters, a significant date in the football calendar, great for us to be able to plan beyond it but all it does it tells us who we are playing and when and the rest is up to us.”

He denied England would be the team to avoid in Pot Two.

England are in Pot Two and could face one of the tournament heavyweights in the group stage (Getty Images)

“Spain would have something to say about that. Whilst we know who the teams are that we believe can go all the way and win the tournament, equally other teams will look at us and feel we a team who are progressing, they know we are not as experienced as some of the other teams, but we will be a dangerous opponent for anybody.”

Southgate meanwhile said he had been fascinated by the recent discussion between Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard over how club rivalries had affected the highly-fancied England squads between 2002 and 2006, and that he has discussed the issue with his staff. He also said he feels it is different for his group, who are also set to be the third youngest at the World Cup by average age.

“I thought it was a fascinating insight really into a period of time just after I had left the England squad just after my playing days. I could relate to elements of what they said from my time there but there were other situations which definitely developed after that time. Those three lads are really good people to speak to from my point of view. I have already had brief conversations with some of the former players about those sorts of thing and the current players have identified things in that kind of area. There is a club rivalry, which is one thing, but there are other things that also stood out.

“The club rivalry will always exist but I think we have a different situation where a lot more of our players have grown up not only playing together through the under-21s, but even in age groups before that. There is a really tight feel and St George’s Park has helped that. There is a real interaction between the age groups so I do think we have a different situation with this talented squad than they were in.”

“For us, it’s exciting, it’s [youth] the way we believe is the right way to go and is the reason we played them in the games last month and we are building not just for next summer but beyond that as well. But we will only take young players if we believe we can perform at the level, we won’t just take young players for the sake of taking young players, we will only take young players we really believe in and because they can perform on this stage but also the experience will help England in the future as well.”

Southgate said one thing the draw will also help with is physical preparation, given that it could mean a big difference as to when England play.

We’ll certainly go through some different time lines once we know the draw because that can be the difference of four or five days as to when we’re in Russia.

“Obviously if we’re in one of the opening matches then that leaves a lot less time from when we need to be at the tournament. We can start to put those plans in place after the draw."