Kyle Walker: England need 'a miracle' to win the World Cup

Kyle Walker admits England need a “miracle” if they are to win the World Cup.

The Manchester City full-back instead insisted that even getting out of a group of Belgium, Panama and Tunisia and winning one more game would constitute success for Gareth Southgate’s side.

“I hope we can go as far as we can go, but we need to be realistic,” the full-back told TalkSport. “To win the World Cup is going to be a miracle, but we have got the players to do it.

“A lot of us play in probably the best league in the world. We’ve got the players to do it, but have we got the experience going further along in competitions? No we haven’t. Not in recent years.

“We need to be realistic. There are a lot of good teams out there and our record in tournaments has not been fantastic.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations inside the camp - England haven’t won a knockout game for God knows how many years, so for us to go there and win a knockout game, that would be a step in the right direction.”

England last won a knockout match at a tournament in 2006, beating Ecuador 1-0 before going on to lose to Portugal in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Meanwhile England have confirmed that they will play friendlies against the United States and Switzerland later in the year. The Swiss will face Gareth Southgate’s side in September at a home venue yet to be confirmed whilst Wembley will host a November friendly between the Three Lions and Americans.