England will start their World Cup campaign on Monday evening against Tunisia in Volgograd, but Gareth Southgate has already told the media that he has informed the players of the starting XI for their first Group G match, and the Three Lions boss has said that if "we played today, the players will be ready."
Southgate's approach to the Russia showpiece has come in for consistent praise, and Southgate will hope that having told his players 48 hours ahead of Monday's match then the players involved can switch on mentally, and be all set to try and kick off their quest for World Cup glory on a positive note.
It's common knowledge that under Fabio Capello at the 2010 World Cup the teams were often not announced until two hours before kick-off, which was lambasted by Rob Green earlier in the week, but Southgate's decision to name his side well in advance of the 7pm kick-off GMT has come in for significant praise, and the former England defender's likeable, assured persona means that English fans know that the players head into the match in the best frame of mind.
Talking to England's YouTube channel Southgate said: "The players know the team, so I think that's helpful that everything's settled, they know their jobs, and the guys that aren't in the team know their jobs, and have prepared well. They become a key part of what we do now."
"They're ready, if we played today they'd be ready, so we now just have to make sure we don't do too much physically, don't overload them with information, they're clear on how we want them to play, they're clear on the opposition, and you taper your training accordingly now," added Southgate.
Watch Gareth Southgate's full interview here:
#ThreeLions boss Gareth Southgate will speak to the media in Volgograd this evening – but we snuck in a chat with him before we depart Repino.
