Gareth Southgate has implemented a positive culture and atmosphere since taking charge as England manager.
The Three Lions have reached a semi-final and final in their last two major tournament appearances and will be hoping to go one further and lift the World Cup in Qatar this time. Southgate has been crucial to changing the narrative around England by implementing new measures at St. George's Park to bring players and media closer together.
Gone are the days when players used to carry club rivalries into international duty for the Three Lions with many of today's squad being friends on and off the pitch. Ahead of England's game against the USA tonight, Ian Wright and Gary Neville have praised the 'team spirit' in the squad despite Roy Keane having a slight dig at them.
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Speaking on ITV's coverage of England against USA, Wright was full of praise for the team spirit amongst the England camp. The former Arsenal striker said: "If them three guys, Trippier, Rice and Wilson’s vibe is anything to go by, it’s very cool.
"Very calm, jovial, very focused. It was nice to be amongst, you could feel the energy, very together, it was lovely."
Neville added: "In a tournament when you’ve got 26 players, 15 of them on the bench, eight of them might not even play. You do need a good group, it can bring group down but the lads who aren’t playing as important as the lads who are playing."
Roy Keane couldn't help but have a slight dig at the Three Lions, admitting he's never heard a manager say they've had a 'bad spirit' in a squad. Keane said: "They’ve had a good start, six goals.
"I never believe all that nonsense about team spirit, I never hear a manager or in the media say there’s a bad spirit in the group. There should be after the game and three or four days, they look happy, playing game of darts, they’re going to be upbeat.
"The most important thing is winning football matches, lets see if they’ll laugh in a couple of weeks."
England will be hoping to get the last laugh as they aim to secure qualification from Group B tonight with a win against the USA.
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