England will be going all out to top Group G despite having already qualified for the knockout stages of the World Cup, said manager Gareth Southgate.
The Three Lions booked their place in the last 16 by defeating Tunisia and Panama in their opening two group matches.
They now face Belgium, who have also made it through, on Thursday night and all that needs to be decided is the final placings.
With Germany suffering a shock elimination, some have suggested finishing second in the group would give England an easier route to the final.
But Southgate refused to entertain such a thought.
He said: “We have not won a knockout game since 2006. Why we are starting to plot which would be a better venue for our semi-final is beyond me.
“We have no idea who, when or where we will play in the next round but we are pleased that we’re in the next round.
“We want to keep winning football matches and we want to breed a mentality where everybody in our squad wants to constantly win.
“We are building a team that are passionate to play for England, they want to win every time they go out and are improving all the time, and I think we’ll see that again.
“We want to win the game. That would mean we top the group. We are trying to develop a winning mentality and I can’t imagine a situation where I stand in front of this group of players and start talking about anything else.”
Germany lost 2-0 to South Korea on Wednesday afternoon, meaning the holders finished bottom of Group F. Instead, Sweden and Mexico advanced to the last 16.
Argentina only booked their place in the knockouts in the dying embers of their final group game, against Nigeria, while European champions Portugal and 2010 winners Spain were far from convincing in Group B.
And Southgate said recent World Cup results have refocused England minds.
He added: “You can’t take anything for granted. The margins are so fine within the matches.
“That’s what brilliant about tournaments, that’s what makes them so exciting; that you just don’t know what’s going to happen.
“Even before today you’d say there have been some great games and all the top teams have got through, but actually now they haven’t.
“That is what attracts everybody to World Cup.
“We are delighted to be in the next round, [the Belgium] game is the one we are focused on and we want to win the group.”
Southgate hinted that he would make some changes to his starting 11 but did not go into specifics.
Watch England v Belgium live on ITV 1 and the ITV Hub.
