Gareth Southgate’s side play in the biggest game of their lives on Wednesday night when they face Croatia for a place in the World Cup final.
And Southgate had his England players warming up for today’s training session by playing a possession game of ‘keep the chicken’.
Harry Kane and co can be seen throwing the chickens to one another in small teams before moving onto stretching and ball work.
Southgate had all 23 of his players available with Jordan Henderson seemingly overcoming tight hamstring and Jamie Vardy, who was feared to have played this last game in Russia with a groin injury.
Southgate put his squad through their paces at the Spartak Zelenogorsk stadium on Tuesday morning ahead of a flight to the Russian capital.
Despite the prospect of England reaching a first World Cup final since lifting the trophy on home soil in 1966, the squad looked relaxed during the open section of their morning session.
And with every player fit Southgate is likely to stick with the XI that beat Sweden 2-0 on Saturday to put England into their first semi-final since 1990.
Although Croatia are the most difficult opponent England will have faced in the tournament, Southgate has suggested he will stick to his gameplan.
Asked what he would be demanding from his players, the England coach told ITV: “To be able to keep doing what we have been doing, play with real defensive discipline, good organisation, tactical awareness and then with the ball play with the freedom and expression that we have and the same patterns and movements that we have shown.”
But the England boss is well aware of the threat that Croatia pose in the centre of the field.
He said: ”They of course have a very strong midfield so, (it is about) denying them space and making sure awareness of distances and coverage of the pitch is correct and (knowing) the right moments to press. The higher the level of opponent, if you press in a disorganised fashion, then you will get picked through and we have got to be conscious of that.”
The contribution of Raheem Sterling remains a polarising debate in England with the Manchester City forward without a goal for his country since October, 2015 but Southgate says his contribution in Russia has been essential.
Southgate added: ”I think Raheem has been fundamental to the way that we have played – his movement, the positions he takes up, his pressing of the ball, his work-rate for the team, the winning of free kicks and corners, his speed to stretch teams.
“He was a constant threat to Sweden, of course he hasn’t scored the goals he would have liked to have scored but for myself and the players he has been a crucial part of the way that we have been playing.”
