Harry Kane believes England are no longer scared of admitting they can win the World Cup, where he thinks the Three Lions' poor form may work in their favour.
Gareth Southgate's side reached the 2018 World Cup semi-final and lost on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 showpiece in what was England's first major final in 55 years.
But they head to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup short of form after being relegated from the top tier of the Nations League following three draws and three losses in Group A3.
Southgate's team have not won since a 3-0 friendly victory over Ivory Coast in March, but captain Kane says the Three Lions will not shy away from outlining their hopes of lifting the World Cup.
"We have to believe we can win it," the Tottenham striker told Sky Sports."I look back at England 10, 15 years ago and it was almost [like] we were scared to say we wanted to win it.
"I think one of the big shifts that we've made over the last four or five years with Gareth is not being afraid to say that.
"Look, we're going to this tournament to win it because we believe we can. It'd be wrong to think otherwise. What's the point of going to a World Cup and not believing that you can bring the trophy home?
"It's going to be tough and we're going to have to work extremely hard, have a little bit of luck and have a lot of things go our way to achieve that.
"But I think it's important not to be afraid to say that that's what we're going there to do."
Pressure has mounted on Southgate after a dismal Nations League showing, yet Kane says the winless run has lowered expectations and may help England in their November 21 opener against Iran.
"The first game's really important, for sure," Kane added. "Of course it hasn't been the greatest period in a long time for England. Since Gareth took charge – we haven't had a spell like we've had.
"But in a way, before a major tournament that can be a really good thing because it allows you not to be carried away, or even the media or the press to get carried away.
"I feel like if we won every game leading up to this tournament it would've been, 'We're guaranteed to win it' and 'We're going to win it', and that can come with a different pressure.
"We feel like being judged on major tournaments is the main thing and the last two we've had have been good."
As for the fitness of Kane, who has been ever-present for Tottenham in the Premier League, the 29-year-old believes the mid-season tournament will help him hit the ground running.
"For sure, I'd rather be going into it playing loads of games where you feel match fit," he continued. "Sometimes after the season in the summer you have a break and then you have to gear back up to play and you haven't played a lot of games.
"You can try and train as much as you can but the bottom line is you need to be ready to have all your energy ready for the game, and that's what I'm trying to do.
"I think major tournaments test you the most in terms of the high pressure. Playing for England is always high pressure but in a major tournament there's always that added incentive.
"The mentality of being away from home, being in camp for five or six weeks but this one is fairly quick because it's during the season. Normally you're away four or five weeks before the tournament and then you're away four or five weeks in the tournament, so it is a long period of time where you're just outside your comfort zone.
"But I guess what separates the top nations and the winning nations from the others is who can deal with that the best."
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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