Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane have promised to put a smile on people's faces ahead of England's opening World Cup game.
The Three Lions take on Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium on Monday. Southgate's side are expected to beat Iran and get their campaign off to a winning start, yet they haven't been victorious since their 3-0 friendly triumph against the Ivory Coast in March.
Southgate's comments were in regards to the current political and social situation in the UK. The biggest hit to living standards on record was delivered earlier this week when chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a series of cuts and tax rises in his autumn budget.
"We have taken our supporters on a fantastic journey over the last few years," said Southgate on Sunday afternoon - as the opening ceremony and the first match of the tournament between Qatar and Ecuador took place the Al Bayt Stadium.
"Our country is going through a difficult as we speak, obviously not like a couple of other countries are going through. Life has been difficult for our people, we are going through an economic recession and we want to bring a journey that brings them real happiness."
The UK has experienced a turbulent time since coming out of the Covid lockdown last year. Former PM Boris Johnson was forced to resign in the summer due to a string of scandals - including the countless parties that were held at Downing Street during lockdown.
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Johnson was succeeded by Liz Truss in September, yet the new PM lasted just six weeks in the job after making a series of catastrophic economical decisions. She was replaced by Rishi Sunak in October to become the shortest-serving PM in British history.
England are one of the favourites to win the World Cup, but they are in poor form. They failed to win any of their six Nations League matches this year to suffer relegation to the second tier of the competition - famously losing 4-0 at home to Hungary.
The Three Lions have also gone 56 years without winning a major tournament. They came very close to ending their wait at Wembley in July 2021, when they lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy. Despite this, captain Kane is up for the challenge in Qatar.
"You can't take anything for granted in football," he added. "I was lucky to play in the 2018 World Cup, in football a lot can change. You have to appreciate these moments. A great blend of experience and youth, in life you have to take opportunities that come your way.
"This is another step, in four years who knows where I will be or where the team will be. It is about now. It will be hard and it will be a big challenge but I’m ready for that challenge."
Kane was also asked about the Golden Boot, as he won the prize in Russia in 2018. The England skipper said: "I try not to think about the Golden Boot, the most important thing is trying to win the World Cup and that is what we are focused on trying to achieve."
