England have the best player in the world right now – this World Cup will be our time

England begin their campaign against Croatia tonight (Picture; Getty)

In his exclusive column forMetro , former England World Cup star David James looks ahead to the Three Lions’ opening Group L clash against Croatia and why this team is finally ready to end 60 years of hurt.

I’m an England fan first and foremost so I always go into tournaments thinking we are going to win. And I do think we can do it because I look at what the manager has brought to this group of players. The way that he talks, the manner in which he has picked the squad, I just think there is a new style and new belief.

I like the way he has balanced the squad and he has articulated very well how and why he has picked the players. More importantly, the players understand their roles which was key in his squad announcement. We have the quality and we have the best player in the world at the moment in Harry Kane.

We have threats elsewhere in many other positions and defensively as we proved in qualifying with no goals conceded, we are sound. Only three teams in qualifying didn’t concede goals, England, Tunisia and Ivory Coast. If it was that easy, everyone would have done it. I’ve got a feeling of comfort that this could be our time.

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Still got it (Picture: MB Media/Getty Images)

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England better equipped with Tuchel in the dugout

Gareth Southgate has to be applauded for where he got the team, I know there wasn’t a trophy at the end of it but that last era of players surpassed everything bar what the legendary 1966 squad did. With Thomas, he has put his own stamp on it. He understands the mentality of players in the big moments rather than just picking the best players.

He has identified what he needs in those big moments. It is all new for him, of course. We had this with Fabio Capello back in 2010. Fabio was an extremely successful manager at club level. But when taking a club to European or domestic success, you don’t have to navigate that six-to-eight week tournament. Yes, you do a whole season but that is very different. With the quality Thomas has got with these players and the experience he has, he will be able to identify what he needs and I have confidence he has got enough.

Kane the best player in the world right now (Picture: Getty Images)

How Tuchel compares to Capello and his England reign

I don’t know the guy, but from everything I know about Thomas Tuchel, he is a hard manager. But he is willing and able to explain why he is doing the things he is doing. I know Fabio well and meet him quite often and he’s a very decent bloke. When he was a manager, he was hard but he didn’t always explain his reasoning a lot of the time.

Tuchel not scared to make the big decisions (Picture: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

In qualification ahead of the 2010 World Cup, we were one game away from being perfect. There was an understanding that the way he was going to do things would bring success but when we got to the finals, all of a sudden that way just wasn’t going to work for that six-to-eight weeks in South Africa. We didn’t have the same environment.

I think the fact Tuchel is very articulate and wants to talk to players helps. Gareth created the environment where players are open to talk on England duty. So this feels like an evolution of that whereas with Fabio, the success he had at club level wasn’t translated. With Thomas, we have the opportunity to translate all the club qualities into international management.

Capello’s reign in charge was a failure (Picture: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

England finally have Croatia’s number

I say this respectfully to Croatia because they have had world class players over the years. But we have a lot more availability and ability to control the game now. We have more well-rounded players now. It comes down to another thing Tuchel has said and that is players knowing their roles. We don’t need one player to control everything.

Some of the players omitted from the squad have a lot of individual controlling skills, but not necessarily to benefit England going far in the tournament. Luka Modric is undoubtedly still magnificent but he will have lost some of the super ability and the super powers he had which is what age does and someone will have to cover for that. Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Elliot Anderson, all of our midfield players are in their prime or in very good form now and therefore what we’ve got is just a better fitting squad. I see England beating Croatia quite comfortably. England need to win and will win.

Modric looking to thwart England again (Picture: Getty Images)

Set piece strength will be vital

Croatia’s coaches and analysis department will know what England players will do in certain situations and set up in a way to make it very difficult. It won’t be easy. We saw the Czech Republic score on the opening day of action and it looked like it was directly from a Premier League game.

There is a part of breaking teams down in games that has become much harder for most teams to the point where they have to get in a position where set plays are crucial. With England, teams are going to be cautious, defending with a low block and scoring goals from open play will be more difficult than usual. Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, there are half a dozen players that will fancy themselves as being the guy who puts the ball in or shoot direct and we are in a very strong position for those moments.

James was part of the England team that fell short in 2010 (Picture: Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Don’t expect to see the same team

I don’t think the team against Croatia picks itself by any stretch. This isn’t just about beating Croatia. This is about winning the group and being in a position that when you get to the knockouts you have the right players when you need them. So whatever the starting XI is against Croatia, I will be very surprised if we see that exact starting XI again. I think there will be plenty of rotation. The weather is a factor but it is also the amount of games that are going to be played in such a short period of time.

There will be the expectation that we win every game but I don’t think there will be the expectation that we do that with the same XI. We’ve got players who can fill multiple positions. I’m confident everyone there knows what they are doing and what is expected of them, even if they are filling in for 15 minutes or 20 minutes to go, they will be the right person.

We have got a manager in Thomas who is taking on equal responsibility in everything. He sounds very different when he talks about the team, in a very exciting way. These players know the manager has picked them for a reason. And it feels different this time.

David James wrote for Metro ahead of England’s opening World Cup game against Croatia.

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