Reading FC boss Paul Ince believes that England can go on to win the 2022 World Cup if they defeat France.
The Three Lions are up against defending champions France in the quarter-finals on Saturday having progressed past Senegal in the last round with a 3-0 triumph.
Speaking on England’s performances at the tournament so far, Ince said: “It’s been clean cut. The only game was the US game where we didn’t perform well.
“It’s been all about getting through the group stages and looking at who we’ve got next.
“Against Senegal I thought we looked shaky at the start. Sarr should have scored and we could have found ourselves 2-0 down.
“You can’t afford to do that against the French, you’ll get punished against better sides.
“Senegal conceded, lost their discipline and then were open. It made it an easy game for England.
“I expected England to at least get to the quarter-finals with the group they have. With the quality we’ve got I expected that and now is the tester to see how good we are.”
With plenty of world class players in the squad, Ince believes that England can win the tournament if they are able to progress past France
He continued: “I’d love England to win it. They’ve got the squad and the togetherness. They’ve got world class players.
“If we can get past the French, I think we go on to win it.
“They’ve got Mbappe who’s the main man.
“Whether he (Southgate) will go to a five at the back I don’t know. He might want to play Walker and Trippier down that side to try and contain him.
“It’s not just Mbappe, you’ve got Giroud who is scoring goals and has been unbelievable.
“It’s an opportunity for England as they have no Kante, no Pogba, no Benzema. Imagine if they had all those players.
“It’s a great opportunity for them to go forward.”
The current Royals boss had a glittering playing career which included success at international level with England.
Ince won 53 caps for England and scored two goals. He represented the Three Lions at two international tournaments, including Euro 96 where England made it to the semi-finals before losing to Germany on penalties.
He also played in the World Cup in France in 1998 as England suffered more penalty heartache after losing to Argentina.
