Gareth Southgate says England have the 'qualities needed to win' France World Cup clash
A combination of big game experience and quality within the present England squad have made Gareth Southgate confident England can beat France in their World Cup showdown
Gareth Southgate has said England know "we've got the qualities needed to win" against France in their World Cup quarter-final.
The Three Lions boss told ITV Sport that his side "could have talked a good game" in previous years, but now have the "experience of big nights as a group" to believe a win is within their remit.
Asked what quality England would need most to beat the reigning world champions, Southgate responded: "Belief."
He urged England to give their all in a match that brings "millions of people together," adding "we want to give them another night to be proud of".
Since England discovered they would be playing Les Bleus, much has been made of how the Three Lions will prepare for France's talismanic forward Kylian Mbappe.
However, Southgate explained England had prepared a game plan for France as a whole and were not solely focusing on the Paris Saint-Germain player.
He said: "Well similar to the fact there will be a pretty good plan for Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and [Ousmane] Dembele.
"They've got a lot of very good players and we would always prepare any team we play against for certain individuals. The detail of marking them or dealing with them is important."
'They've got a lot of very good players and we would always prepare any team we play against for certain individuals'
Pressed on how England would line up for the blockbuster clash, Southgate failed to rule out switching to a defensive back three.
Although he did add that it is "without a doubt" important that England don't lose any of their attacking prowess, regardless of what changes are made.
The Three Lions boss also revealed Raheem Sterling was available for selection, after flying back to England's base in Qatar.
Last weekend, Sterling returned to England following a break-in at his family home in Surrey.
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"We'll have to assess that because he's missed a lot of training and had two long flights. So, that's not good preparation for a game of this standard, but lets see how he is," he said.
England will play France for a place in the World Cup semi-finals on Saturday, with kick-off at 7pm from the Al Bayt Stadium.
UK viewers can watch the match exclusively on ITV1, ITVX or STV and follow the ITV News website for live updates.