JESSE LINGARD: The secrets of Gareth Southgate’s big-game team talks revealed

I know what it’s like to play in a World Cup round of 16 match for an England team led by Gareth Southgate, and I guarantee you that the preparations for today’s Senegal match will have been meticulous.

Spirits will be high, the players well-informed about the opposition and how to test them, and the prevailing sense in the dressing room before kick-off will be one of calm with a dash of requisite nerves.

Four years ago at Russia 2018, our round of 16 game was against Colombia and it ended in a 1-1 draw and we went through winning the penalty shootout.

I’m sure by the time England arrive at Al Bayt Stadium to face Aliou Cisse’s AFCON champions the atmosphere will be relaxed and Gareth’s pre-match message will be short and sweet. He knows that his players are aware that they must comply and he is not going to waste words by stating the obvious. If it’s like 2018, he’ll say you’re ready and good enough. Go out and show it off, and enjoy it.

You’ll be able to tell that because almost every waking minute since the final whistle was blown at the Wales game, Gareth and his staff will have been preparing for the next one.

You work on the tactical plan every day on the training ground and on set pieces, which were especially vital for us in 2018. And then the day before the game comes the opponent’s analysis and specific instructions for the starting eleven . Full team meeting.

Everyone gathers in a large room, with Gareth’s computer hooked up to a giant screen, and he follows through with the plan: what to expect from the opposition, how we must play to win. And then simple but specific instructions for various scenarios. Watch out for player X because he likes to do this and that. The center halves should be aware of this. Midfielders, this is where spaces are most likely to open up. This is how they are installed in the corners. And so.

Ten of Cissé’s squad play club football in England, including six in the Premier League, so there will be some familiarity with that group anyway.

The ‘game plan’ meeting, also the point where the starting XI is confirmed, can last around 30 minutes and will be packed with simple, practical information and instructions.

Players will have a pretty good idea beforehand who is going to start; the work done in the training will have provided solid indications. But until it’s confirmed, you never know for sure. Gareth could have told certain players beforehand if they were in or out, and why, because he is a great man-coach.

I’ve worked with quite a few different coaches and I respond better to a boss who wants to get to know you as a person and not just as a player. I want a manager who knows your family, your ups and downs, and communicates every day and who you can joke with too. Gareth cares about all of that and he’s a good communicator.

In the hour leading up to kick-off, the preparation and rituals in the locker room will vary from player to player.

Some will vibrate to the collective playlist and others may have their own tunes on the headphones. I just listen to some music and enjoy a bit of dancing.

When it’s time to hit the tunnel and wait for the road to the field, the excitement starts to build and the nerves kick in, in a good way, as fuel for what’s to come.

England sealed the spot against Senegal by winning Group B and I saw nothing but positives in the final group game, a 3-0 win over Wales, despite a heavy first half. It was a good performance at the end and sometimes it just takes a while to get into the groove.

That first half to my eyes was two rivals looking at each other. Wales were cautious and desperate not to concede and hopefully win, but England did not want to be enthusiastic.

Half-time adjustments, notably to the position held by Phil Foden, gave England most of the meaningful possession. That wonderful finish to Marcus Rashford’s opening goal was like putting on the reinforcements and they were off: Foden purring, effective team pressure further up the pitch, Harry Kane setting up, Marcus scoring again and another clean sheet.

There is a fascinating combination of countries in the last 16, especially after some surprising departures from Germany, Belgium and Uruguay. I don’t doubt England have the talent to thrive at this World Cup, and working within Gareth’s instructional framework, they have the technical excellence and intelligence to make it work on the pitch. However, they need to adapt to what is presented to them.

RASHFORD’S SUCCESS SHOULD NOT BE AN IMPACT

I’m pleased, but not surprised, that Marcus Rashford is having a smashing tournament.

This is a change from what seemed like a potential low point after missing his penalty in the Euro 2020 final last summer, and then having to put up with sickening racial abuse on social media.

Marcus is a brilliant person and I have watched him grow into a player and a person who always wants to contribute, on and off the pitch. He was 12 or 13 years old and working my way through Manchester United’s youth academy when Marcus first arrived at the age of seven.

And I was 20 when he made his United first team debut as a teenager, and then he was playing for England a few months after that!

For England he has been a pioneer. Roy Hodgson had said that Marcus was unlikely to go to Euro 2016, but he did, becoming England’s youngest ever player at Euros. And before that, he made his debut in a friendly against Australia, wearing the number 9 shirt and scoring the first goal to become the youngest Lion to score on his international debut.

If he was sweeping the field back then, he was still quiet, even shy, at 18 and 19 and it’s amazing to see the man he’s become today. His activism on food poverty has been rightly praised, helping to force change in government policy.

All of this makes it all the more baffling that racist idiots would vilify him so much after Euro 2020. It can affect you; I have been abused over the years. But it can also make you stronger. And Marcus is resilient, focused and has come back strong.

HOW WE CHOOSE LOVE ISLAND OVER THE WORLD CUP

It probably doesn’t surprise you that one of the things World Cup footballers do in their spare time during a World Cup is… watch the World Cup on TV.

It may be because we usually like football and we enjoy it like everyone else. Or you want to see friends or teammates performing for other countries.

Or tune in because you might end up playing a certain team in the tournament and want to see how they’re doing.

You can usually watch a game on TV while getting a massage, or in the treatment room, as a distraction. Or just in your room.

That was the case at the last World Cup, certainly during the day in Russia. But that World Cup was played in the same weeks that Love Island was on TV.

So most nights most of us would gather in one room to watch Love Island instead of football!