Steve Bull: Countries will not roll over for England at the World Cup
Gareth Southgate has a headache on his hands as to who is going to select against Senegal tomorrow.
Many of our squad members have put their cases forward and look ready to give it a good go.
The tournament has gone pretty well for England so far.
All of us England fans want to see them win every game three or four nil, but others like Germany and Belgium have found out there are stumbling blocks in the way.
We played very well in the first game to beat Iran but I thought in the second game against USA we were held to ransom and they stopped us playing football.
It wasn’t the be-all-and-end-all and we moved on to the Wales game and finished it all off.
It is going to be tough, because Senegal are there in the last 16 for a reason, I just feel we have that depth to help us change for different circumstances.
Countries are not at the World Cup to roll over for England. There will be loads of staff working for Senegal and others working out how to stop England playing.
I think Southgate will be thinking he has a great set of lads, young, keen, eager to prove something.
You need a bit of luck through these tournaments, we will be talking the serious stuff if England can get through tomorrow.
Senegal are going to come out all guns blazing, they will not hold back with tackles and will be physical, we’ll have to mix it up physically and play our football as well. We can’t be bullied.
We can’t count our chickens. I don’t want to look at England’s potential path later in the competition and the potential of playing one of the best sides in France.
I don’t want players to have one eye beyond Senegal, they need to be fully focused. I don’t care if our win is scrappy, horrible or nice, just win.
Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire have been two of our star men. Both players have come under scrutiny at Manchester United in recent months, not being selected and so on.
But when you head to the national side, who you might not have seen for a little while, it’s like a bit of a spark in them as they fight for the place in the side.
Rashford has scored a couple of cracking goals and Maguire has been very good at the back, you can’t knock them at the moment.
It’s not just about those, it’s Rice, Foden and Sterling - players some people are trying to shoot down, but they are standing up to the job.
I haven’t seen too much in the competition to blow me away yet.
I always put out a table of the top sides, I’ve got France, Brazil, England, in different orders, but there are underdogs too!
Look at Japan, I’m watching them and shaking my head thinking ‘they shouldn’t be here’ but they’re working as a team and are a half-decent side, you have to applaud how far they have got.
n I am looking forward to heading to The Mount Hotel in Wolverhampton tomorrow for a signed memorabilia session between 12-3pm.
If any Wolves fans would like attend to catch up with me and other former players before the England match please come and visit.
