Ben Chilwell believes England can beat anyone, as the Three Lions target the victory that will take them closer to qualifying for Euro 2024.
The 26-year-old Chelsea wing-back is likely to start in England’s qualifier against Ukraine in Poland on Saturday.
A win there against a key Group C rival would take England to the brink of reaching next summer’s finals in Germany, having won all four of their previous matches. Another victory in their following qualifier, against Italy on October 17, would guarantee it.
Chilwell, who has been in and out of the England set-up due to injuries, is watching confidence in the squad grow.
“I love coming here [to England’s training base at St George’s Park] — and we’d all say the same thing,” he said. “It is little things, like building culture and winning mentality over years and years.
“It’s about the day-to-day habits of turning up on time at the hotels, saying please and thank-yous to all the staff, doing everything right in the gym, doing everything right on the pitch. It all adds up to create the culture that we’ve built now — and it is a great place to come. We’re very confident, but there’s a difference between being over-confident and very confident.”
England beat Ukraine 2-0 at Wembley in March, but their rivals have won their other two qualifying matches. The match will be played away from Ukraine’s usual home in Kyiv, amid security concerns due to Russia’s ongoing invasion. Chilwell is aware, for all England’s confidence, they will be playing a uniquely motivated opponent.
“We know what a difficult team they will be, how motivated by their circumstances they will be and how passionate they are to play for their country,” he said.
“I played in the game in March. It was very tough. We played well, kept a clean sheet and scored twice. That was down to how professionally we took it all.
“I think, at this level, if you don’t go to games with the same mindset, then you will lose games. We are very professional — we know it will be tough but we are very confident.”
Chilwell hopes it is third time lucky for him, after he missed England’s last two tournaments in some of his biggest disappointments to date. Contact with Covid-positive Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour caused him to miss every match en route to the final at Euro 2020, while he also missed the World Cup in Qatar due to a hamstring injury.
With Luke Shaw injured, Chilwell is keen to stake his claim against Ukraine and next Tuesday’s friendly in Scotland.
“Germany next summer is something I am really looking forward to,” he said. “I am hoping to get the opportunity to play. I always give my most when I am playing for England.”
