England manager Gareth Southgate has set his eyes on the “missing piece” of the country, targeting World Cup glory in 2022.
England were denied the first major trophy since 1966 when they lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy in July.
The heartbreaking defeat at Wembley came three years after England lost to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final.
But Southgate’s men are back in search of silverware after qualifying for the 2022 World Cup with ease.
England will lead Qatar as one of the favorites and Southgate knows winning a trophy will end their impressive reign.
“We went to Russia in 2018, having not won a knockout game for 10 years and that was our first objective,” Southgate told Sky News.
“Now we’re in a position where we’ve reached the final, we’ve set a lot of historical records and created moments in our history, so the missing piece for us is a trophy and it’s incredibly difficult but we’re going to give it to us.” Believe we can do this.
“We know there are other teams, there are two teams (Italy and Portugal) that have reached the play-offs that can win that trophy, so the level is really high and there are plenty of top teams as well.
“While we think we have good players, we know other teams have good players too … We know the level is high but we think we are in that group of teams.”
Although Southgate was criticized for his cautious strategy and substitution during the Euro 2020 final, he is widely praised for replacing England after decades of low achievement.
At the time, he described the final defeat as a burst of his stomach, but now he watches the Euro run more lovingly.
“I think it’s been a remarkable year,” he said. “It’s always going to be on our mind as part of this year, to be in the final and not go over the line, but if I look logically as a coach to progress in the last two qualifications as a team. In campaigns we have been the top scorers in Europe.
“I think we’ve got the best defensive record in the world in the last 12 months. We were behind in those 19 games this calendar year because I think 22 minutes, incredible performance by the players.
“They dealt with the pressure of staying at home in a big tournament, they managed to qualify for a World Cup, as we have seen from other high-profile countries, which is not a given.
“A lot of young players have come through a lot stronger, much more experienced, that’s just such a missing piece of winning the final.”
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