One thing that strikes me from watching England at World Cups over the years - we don’t give our home-grown talent enough love.
Look at Harry Kane, the guy has been scoring 20-plus goals in the Premier League for the best part of six years. But when Spurs wanted £150million for him, everyone said they were crazy. Talk about his Golden Boot in Russia four years ago and some people argue the opposition wasn’t up to much.
And right now there are lots of people worried about our chances in Saturday’s quarter-final against France. But as Declan Rice says: "what about us?"
Yes, in Kylian Mbappe, France have a magnificent talent - my tip to land the Golden Boot. He’s scored five so far, two more than any other player - and he is going well.
He has also now scored 24 times in 24 games for club and country this season. But Harry has that Golden Boot under his belt. He has another two in the Premier League. Last year at the Euros, he didn’t score in the group stages but hit four in three games in the knockouts to get us to the Final.
Why? Well, in the knockouts you're up against better sides and more expansive football. In the group stages teams are in a low block. That denies Harry the space he needs.
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Senegal opened up after conceding and Harry was able to cash in. So if we start fast and score early, he’ll get more chances - and I’d put my house on him taking them.
Mbappe prefers to play off the left instead of up front because when you're not the biggest or the strongest you can get isolated up front. But on the left, or in wide areas, you have the freedom to roam into the No.10 or No.9 positions. You can also isolate your full-back which is where Mbappe is best.
Kyle Walker can hold his own against him, though. They met when PSG faced Manchester City in the Champions League group stages just over a year ago.
Kylian did score in that game but overall Kyle did well against him and City won to top their group. At 29, Harry has experience on his side. At 23, Mbappe has youth and he’s an even better player now. But Kyle’s pace means it will be a great fight.
Look, France are no one-man team. On the other flank they have Ousmane Dembele, up front they have their all-time scorer, Olivier Giroud and behind him they have Antoine Griezmann. Behind them in midfield? Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot. They really are still a fabulous team and a superb squad.
But, again - what about us? Behind Harry, Phil Foden has won four Premier League titles under Pep Guardiola. Bukayo Saka is one of the hottest young players in Europe. Jude Bellingham can do things now - at 19 - that most players don’t master until they are well into their twenties.
So this quarter-final is a hard one to call. If we start the way we did against Senegal, gifting chances, Mbappe won’t miss. But if we are on it from the start and grab one early, France may have to open up and our front line could take advantage.
If we do that and edge past the French, maybe then we in England will properly appreciate the world-class talent right under our noses.
The situation involving Raheem Sterling will send a shiver down most footballers’ spines. Most if not all players have security at the back of their minds when they are considering where to live after joining a club.
It isn’t easy either. When I first moved to Everton I was looking at houses in one area in Manchester. But there had been a spate of burglaries around that particular area and I’ll be honest, it spooked me.
In the end, I decided against it for that reason. It's difficult. There's only so much you can do. Every other week you spend you're in and out in a hotel away. Fans know you're in hotels away so it is worrying.
At times you're going to bed at night and you leave your phone on loud just in case that something happens and your other half needs to call you. So yeah, that is a worry and there are conversations that have gone on around training grounds about beefing up Security.
Players will say: “I use this person”, “This person is good” or “I get my dog from this person”. The conversations do go around about making sure families are safe doing away games.
The last thing you want to be doing as a player when you're at the World Cup, at a Champions League game or even a Premier League game is having to worry about your family when you need to be focusing on your job. I’m sure the FA will be helping all the England players now and the clubs will maybe sit down and see what they can do from their side about beefing up security during the weekend because it's definitely scary.
In terms of what Raheem will do now, it is up to him. Of course, he would not want to leave his family at risk again. I wouldn’t. But then on the flip side, a player might be desperate to get back to help the England squad provided he can get firm assurances around the safety of his family. Because family comes first and it puts everything else into perspective.
