England spent little time celebrating Sunday's 3-0 World Cup win over Senegal before turning their thoughts to an intimidating quarter-final next Saturday against reigning champions France.
England coach Gareth Southgate acknowledged his side had failed to repeat their early World Cup attacking fluency in their 0-0 draw with the United States, but said success in major tournaments often required such gritty performances.
Southgate, who had two years left on his deal, will now lead England into the Euro 2020 tournament and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Images from the Euro 2024 qualifying matches on Friday.
Wales will just want to land a blow on their old rivals, snap a run of six consecutive defeats against them and claim a first win over England since 1984.
'I was lucky enough to play with Wayne and he was a huge player who I looked up to. I watched him play in the major tournaments and it's a huge honour to be close to him.'
A second-place finish in the group stages could prove to be a blessing in disguise for England who are on the relatively easier side of the draw in the knockout stages.
Sterling, who is part of Gareth Southgate's 23-man squad who begin their World Cup campaign in Volgograd against Tunisia on June 18, again took to Instagram to defend himself, insisting the tattoo has a "deeper meaning."
France hoping Mbappe will be enough to match England's impressive depth
Images from the FIFA World Cup match between Senegal and England on Sunday.
England coach Gareth Southgate's last two tournament near misses were accompanied by criticism of his conservatism in selection but a relatively radical switch to bring in Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden paid off handsomely in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Wales.
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his record-breaking form for Portugal as he grabbed two more goals in his country's 6-0 thrashing of Luxembourg in a Euro 2024 qualifier on Sunday.
Jude Bellingham has become one of the most sought-after signatures in football
We haven't played the best coming into the tournament. There was a lot of talk and speculation about our form but we showed everyone how much quality we have and what we can do," said Saka, whose last major tournament ended with him missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final shootout.
England fans, the majority of whom will be watching on sofas and in pubs back home, have rightly lauded Southgate but patience is beginning to run out.
That incredible spread of goals has been shared by Marcus Rashford (3), Bukayo Saka (3), Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Jordan Henderson plus Harry Kane.
Britain's Prince Harry confidently predicted that England would lift the World Cup as Gareth Southgate's men prepare for their semi-final against Croatia later on Wednesday.
England under-21 coach Gareth Southgate looks likely to be put in temporary charge of the national team after the resignation of Roy Hodgson following the side's Euro 2016 exit, British media reported on Wednesday.
England reached the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time since Euro 1996, when Southgate was part of the team.
"Football's Coming Home is a song I couldn't even listen to for 20 years, frankly. So for me it has a slightly different feel," Southgate told reporters
Goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli gave Gareth Southgate's side a deserved 2-0 last-eight win over Sweden on Saturday, and they must now prepare to take on Croatia in three days time for a spot in the World Cup final.
A second-half penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai earned Hungary a shock 1-0 win over England in the Nations League on Saturday - their first victory against Gareth Southgate's side in 60 years.
The English top flight was the earliest of the major European leagues to start this season, kicking off on Aug. 10, a week before Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A and a fortnight ahead of Germany's Bundesliga.
Victory for Gareth Southgate's England side in the eagerly-awaited Group D clash at a rain-swept Wembley stadium would have sealed a place in the last 16 but they produced a nervous performance against the Scots, who kept their own hopes alive.
"It feels like a missed chance because I felt the performances were really good and the focus and the hunger was good every single day," said England midfielder Jordan Henderson.
aka was excellent in the opening minutes and it was his cross that was headed into the net by Martinelli for the opener, but he went down injured shortly afterwards after a challenge from Forest's Renan Lodi. Saka tried to continue but came off after 27 minutes.
England interim manager Gareth Southgate wants the job on a permanent basis, Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn said on Thursday.
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Panama were swept aside by a 'spectacular and beautiful' England, said coach Hernan Dario Gomez on Sunday, heaping praise on Gareth Southgate's side after seeing his team thrashed 6-1 in the World Cup Group G clash.
If England beat Panama and Belgium beat or draw with Tunisia then England are through to the last 16.
Southgate said England had been forced to give players extra days' recovery and also tapered their training schedules as the country's hopes of qualifying for the Nations League finals were dashed after Sunday's 2-0 defeat by Belgium.
Bairstow will be a key player for the England in the World Cup starting May 30 in the United Kingdom.
Gareth Southgate singled out defender John Stones for special praise and defended captain Harry Kane's performance
England came into the World Cup with low expectations from their fans and much talk of building for the future but as they face a quarter-final with Sweden on Saturday, manager Gareth Southgate says this generation might not get a better chance to triumph.
Italy inflicted heartbreak on England to win the Euro 2020 final
Images from the international friendly and Euro qualifying football matches played on Tuesday.
Captain Eoin Morgan said that the recent talk had resonated well with the players.
West Indies great Michael Holding criticised England cricket team's "moment of unity" gesture in the ongoing two-Test series against New Zealand, saying it was not supporting Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement but giving subtle meaning of "all lives matter".
Images from the Nations League matches played on Tuesday.
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