IAN LADYMAN: After heartbreak vs Croatia and Italy, England must stand tall vs World Champions

Gareth Southgate is so sure of what his England team can deliver against France tonight that he decided on their line-up on Monday.

“We had already seen all of France’s matches and we had already reviewed our match against Senegal,” he revealed yesterday. “We are very clear that we are on the right path.”

For the England coach, it wasn’t always like this and he admitted it for practically the first time yesterday.

Southgate may have said all the right things when he led England to the last World Cup semi-final in Russia four and a half years ago, but deep down he was less sure his players were really ready. As it turned out, they weren’t. Croatia came from behind to beat them.

“If you had asked me four years ago if we were ready, I’m not sure,” Southgate said. ‘Now I feel differently because we have evidence of a long period of results.

“Historically we have always spoken well, but the evidence was not there. Now we have more evidence and we have to go and nail this kind of game now.’

England is at the crossroads of this World Cup. Losing tonight at Al Bayt Stadium, where they must be starting to feel familiar, and it would be pertinent to ask whose quality they have really beaten here in the Gulf.

But a win over the defending champions would propel England towards what would be arguably a more palatable semi-final with either Portugal or Morocco.

So for Southgate and his players, tonight’s game has a moment of truth feel to it. Did England really learn their lessons from failures against Croatia and then Italy in the Euro final last summer? They led in both games but lost.

“The most important thing for me in the game will be our mentality,” Southgate said. ‘Of course we will be tactically prepared. But these nights you’ve got to have men stand up and take up the challenge. That’s what we have to show people.

‘This is knockout football. I have confidence in the players. I think we’re in a good place. But I also think we have to take a step forward mentally.

‘That is the most important aspect for me that we are trying to achieve this week. We have individual players with experience in big matches and to be honest I’m not afraid of the youngsters because I think they’re just going to go play.

“In the big games, at the end, the great players step up and can be decisive.”

England will need to be close to their best tonight. They have been impressive enough during this tournament to produce a full 90 minute performance.

His level will certainly need to be higher tonight as goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and the defensive line in front of him will face a new and more sophisticated threat.

For context, it’s worth considering the strikers who have faced England during matches against Iran, the USA, Wales and Senegal. They have come from clubs as diverse as Porto, Lille, Antalyaspor, Bournemouth, Los Angeles, Salernitana and Watford.

Tonight, the French four of Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele have the colors of AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona in their corner, so the improvement is clear.

Harry Maguire, as impressive as he has been in Qatar, showed signs of early vulnerability against Senegal. His passing was particularly erratic. If that were to happen again tonight, England would likely have to score two or more goals to win.

“These are the last stages now and the standards are always going to go up,” said Pickford, who will win his 50th game tonight.

‘We know that it is a step forward in the opponents. They have some top quality people, but they are also really a top team. We are prepared for them and ready for them.

‘Harry and John Stones have been brilliant. The defensive side, with the ball, without the ball, defending, the blocks they make, the blocks that save the game.

‘It’s never in doubt with those two high-quality players. I’ve been on a ride since 2017 and they’ve been there for almost every game I’ve played. Nothing has ever changed.

If England’s players are looking to grow even further at this World Cup, their manager is already having a good month in the desert.

Southgate has proven to be more flexible in terms of tactics and personnel here in Qatar than ever before and that has come as a surprise.

“Well, I’d be an idiot if I hadn’t learned something over five years of managing some of the biggest games in world football, managing some of the greatest players in Europe,” he said.

‘Going through the experience of having one of the highest profile jobs in the country, you learn a lot.

‘You constantly improve as a coach. In four or five years I will be a better coach than I am now.

It’s fascinating to think about where Southgate will be in five years. Club management draw attention when he eventually steps down from his current role, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him one day return to the FA in one executive capacity or another.

How history judges him will depend in part on what happens next week in Qatar.

“I think the sun will rise tomorrow and life will be the same no matter what,” he said.

For once, it was hard to agree.