Jordan Pickford insists England go into their World Cup campaign with the belief they are good enough to go all the way and lift the trophy in Qatar.
England face Iran in their Group B opener on Monday.
After finishing third as the 2018 World Cup and as runners-up at Euro 2020, Pickford says Gareth Southgate’s squad want to go one better.
“As a footballer, there is nothing better than getting a medal,” said the goalkeeper. “The World Cup comes around every four years, so there’s an opportunity for us.
“It’s an opportunity that we can hopefully grab with both hands and excel in the tournament. For me, personally, all I want is silverware. Ask every single lad in the squad and the staff and they will want the same thing.”
Pickford excelled at the World Cup in Russia four years ago and again at Euro 2020 and says takes motivation from looking at his silver medal from the Euros.
“It’s at my mam and dad’s house,” he said. “Other players don’t really like them but I think it is a progression.
“It is a hunger to say that you have got the runners-up medal - it’s a hunger wanting to go and get the winners’ medal.
“You know what it takes to get to the final, now what’s the next step? So I think it is always good to have a look at it. I’m positive about it, not negative.
“I think we’ve come a long way as a nation, especially from Russia, where we were written off a bit early doors and got to the semis. We were disappointed not getting to the final.
“We took that momentum into the Euros, pretty much a home tournament, as close as I will get in my career to that. We got to the final of that.
“We’ve tasted defeat in both of them. But we know what it takes to get that far. We know how tough it is to win the World Cup but our main aim is to win the tournament. We’ve got the ability and mental strength in the team.
“It’s what football is all about: winning. That is what we are in the tournament to do.
“The last two tournaments we didn’t get over the finish line but we’ve made massive strides as a nation and as a group of players.”
