England fly out to Qatar on Tuesday in search of World Cup glory - with two Three Lions legends backing them to defy expectations.
Terry Butcher and Peter Reid, with 90 caps for their country between them, believe Gareth Southgate can repeat the success of Russia 2018 despite the recent poor form.
Butcher, 63, still famous for his bloody head wound against Sweden in the build-up to Italia '90, told the Mirror: "We still have a lot of talent out there. I think we can learn from that awful experience against Italy at the Euros last year. We did really well to get to the semi-finals in Russia. We have a point to prove - but we need to be ruthless."
Butcher won 77 caps for his country, while former Everton boss Reid, 66, played for England 13 times, including the infamous 'Hand of God' defeat to Diego Maradona's Argentina at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
"I am quietly confident despite our recent bad spell," he said. "I think that takes a lot of the pressure off. If you keep on winning every game, then everyone is expecting you to win and that raises expectations. I still think we can do well."
Harry Kane's side will meet at St George's Park in Burton on Trent on Monday, a week before our opening game against Iran. The Three Lions were in impressive form before the summer's Nations League, with heavy defeats before a 3-3 draw with Germany in September.
Southgate has chosen Souq Al Wakra Hotel in Al Wakrah, south of Doha, for its quiet location, with a new pool, outdoor facilities and 60 extra staff catering to their every need.
He revealed that his players will be allowed to see their wives and girlfriends - but only if there are no issues with Covid. There were 250 new cases of the virus reported in Qatar on Sunday. Southgate said: "We need to monitor it quite closely."
Some of the players' wives and girlfriends will be on the £1billion cruise ship MSC World Europa. Model Sasha Attwood, 26, girlfriend of Man City ace Jack Grealish, 27, is among those expected to fly out for the tournament.
Many of England's players' families are arriving on Sunday when Qatar opens the tournament against Ecuador.
