Gareth Bale reckons Wales can shock England and Group B after insisting they have more passion than their rivals.
Wales and England start their World Cup campaigns on Monday with Bale’s side facing the USA and the Three Lions taking on Iran.
The nations are then due to meet next week in their final group games on Tuesday, November 29.
Last time the neighbours faced off at a tournament in the 2016 Euros, Bale insisted: “I think we've got a lot more passion and pride about us than them.” And ahead of Wales’ first World Cup finals since 1958, Bale, 33, stressed: “Yes, I believe that we have the most passion. Personally, I feel we are the most passionate country in the world and that will never change in my mind.
“Even going into this tournament even though we are older, I still feel the same.”
Bale’s previous comments about England led to a fiery rivalry in France where Daniel Sturridge scored a last-gasp winner in a 2-1 win.
But Wales had the last laugh as they went on to reach the semi-finals while England crashed out to Iceland in the last 16 as Roy Hodgson quit.
Successive Euros appearances have put Welsh football on the map but Bale is hungry for more exploits to cement his side’s legacy.
He added: “It is not just about football, it is about the growth of our country - people knowing our history more, people in our own country learning more about the history of where we came from and what happened.
“Even us as players are still learning. Even though we are successful we are hearing more stories because Wales is being spoken about more.
“Hopefully in the future when you speak to people from other counties they won’t ask where Wales is. They will know. That is an amazing part of our story.”
