Gareth Southgate: 'England are ready to fight France'

Gareth Southgate has insisted that his England players are 'ready to fight France' in their World Cup quarter-final on Saturday.

The Three Lions are looking to make successive semi-finals of the tournament for the first time in their history.

England's runs to the last four of the 2018 World Cup and then the final of Euro 2020 have seen them gain valuable tournament experience, and Southgate hailed this achievement ahead of their meeting with France.

"In terms of our experiences, I think those big matches for the team are important reference points," he said.

"They’ve had to come through many different ways of winning games, some defeats that have hurt but that we’ve learned a lot from and I think they prepare you for nights like tomorrow where you have got to produce the very best version of yourselves.

"The mentality is key really. The belief that we deserve to be there and we are ready to fight France for that place in the semi-final."

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In an interview with The Times, Southgate admitted that he's done his fair share of learning from these ultimately fruitless runs.

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

"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-five years down the line I’ll be a better coach than I am now.

"We’ve constantly tried to evolve. I know people think I have a preference for a certain system, but if anything my preference has always been 4-3-3, but I don’t think it’s always been appropriate for us to play and get the best out of the team. The job is not just to have a philosophy, the job is to win matches. And you can have a philosophy but if you’re going home at the start of the tournament then the philosophy doesn’t wash, really. With the national team you’ve got to keep winning.

"I’m always going to be judged on the next game. If we don’t win, I know where the buck will stop. But that’s fine, I’m the manager, I have to take responsibility. I feel good about where I am on my decision-making and my energy and my excitement for the game."