Wednesday 3 June 2015 11:19, UK
Goalkeeping coach Lee Kendall concedes England will need to be at their very best if they are to claim victory in their World Cup opener against France next week.
England take on a France side ranked three places above them at No 3 in the FIFA world rankings on June 9 at Moncton, New Brunswick.
The French have been the scourge of England in tournaments in recent years. They knocked England out of the 2013 European Championships in former manager Hope Powell’s last game in charge, and also defeated England in the 2014 Cyprus Cup final.
"They are a team that are very strong," Kendall told Sky Sports. "They are favourites to win the group and one of the favourites to win the tournament but France will be just like any other game for us.
"They have some very good individual players and we must do what we can to nullify them collectively. We need to be in a position to compete with them.
"If we have 11 eight-out-of-10s on the day rather than 11 six-out-of-10s, we should, fingers crossed, be in a position to get a result."
'Experience'
The showdown with France takes place at the Moncton Stadium in an area where there is a significant French speaking community, but Kendall is not phased by the prospect of a partisan crowd.
"It's obviously a French-speaking part of Canada and there is going to be 14,000 screaming French-speaking supporters," he said.
"But we've got a lot of experience in the group. We've got players who’ve been to major tournaments before and during qualifying we’ve played in places like Ukraine which are quite hostile."
Kendall was hand-picked by Sampson to join England’s backroom staff in 2014 after a six-month stint as Bristol City following spells with the academy sides at Sheffield United and Cardiff City.
"I've come from very humble roots and worked my way up through the academy system and into first-team football," the 34-year-old added.
"To get the opportunity to work at international level is a huge honour and a personal high and going to a World Cup is the pinnacle really.
"It's been a long journey over the last 18 months and we’ve had a few ups and downs but we’ve managed to come together now as a group. We’ve got a philosophy which we feel is strong and we really feel we can push on now.
"The spirit and togetherness we have is second to none. Everyone knows what needs to be done whether it’s the starting XI, the players off the pitch or the staff. We’re all fully behind Mark."
