Gareth Southgate goes into the World Cup draw believing England’s time has finally arrived.

The Three Lions boss insists England deserve their place as among the top seeds in Qatar because they are one of the clutch of nations which can win the tournament. He has even confessed that he has been dreaming about his team lifting the trophy and going one step further than four years ago when they reached the semi finals.

Southgate, who has flown into Qatar for Friday's star-studded event in Doha, said: “It’s very special, the pinnacle, the World Cup is still the ultimate prize you can win as a player there is no trophy bigger and of course all the players will feel that way. My visions are always about the team and what they would do and how that would look.

“What have we said to the team this week? That if we can get to a semi final, we can get to a final, and we did. If we can get to a final, we can win. That's clear. To do that is incredibly difficult and we'll have to be as close to perfect as can be.

"That's the challenge for us, not just when we get to Qatar because we've got to be in the right condition, even before that. Thats what we've got to work towards everyday we're together." England were weighed down by expectations and false hope in the past when the so-called Golden Generation failed to live up to their billing and promises to repeat the nation’s only previous World Cup triumph in 1966.