'We're desperate to stay in this Cup'

England captain Josh Walker is determined to lead his side to victory on Friday night and hope that can be enough to see the Young Lions through to the Second Round of the World Cup.

After defeats to Uruguay and Ghana in the first two games of the group stage, England’s hopes of reaching the last 16 are dependent on them beating Uzbekistan and then relying on results elsewhere.

It’s a tall order, but Walker is determined to help England stick to their part of the bargain and he has seen enough in the previous matches to suggest there is hope for his team.

“Everything is riding on this game now and we need to go out for the win,” said the Middlesbrough midfielder.

“The first two games have seen us come up against two of the favourites for the tournament.

“In the first game with Uruguay, I thought we worked hard and had them under the cosh but they took their goal really well in the last five minutes when we maybe ran out of legs a little.

“Against Ghana, we came up against a very good side, physically and technically and all over the pitch.

“It’s all about taking chances and there have been periods in both games when we’ve had opportunities to score first and then to even level the game out.

“Now we’ve got Uzbekistan coming up and we all desperately want to stay in this World Cup for the Second Round so we know we’ve got to go for the win.”

With the game being played in Suez, the squad have changed accommodation for this game and that has given everyone involved a new lease of life as they prepare for the match.

“Our focus now is on Uzbekistan and them only,” added Walker.

“We know we have to go out there and put in a performance first of all, but most importantly we need a good victory and hopefully results will go our way and we can stay in the competition a bit longer.”