A taste of Rio de Janeiro has left the England squad desperate to reach next year’s Brazilian World Cup finals, according to Manchester City midfielder James Milner.
Roy Hodgson’s side played out a 2-2 draw with Brazil on Sunday at the newly-refurbished Maracana Stadium, thanks to goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wayne Rooney.
And Milner insists visiting Rio and experiencing what the 2014 competition can offer is more than enough inspiration to finish the qualifying campaign strongly.
“You can sense the love and the atmosphere in the ground – it’s going to be some tournament next year,” said the 27-year-old.
“If you don’t want to play in a World Cup in Brazil after the last few days then you never will.
“Experiencing Rio has helped us massively. We are all desperate to finish the job and qualify for the World Cup.
“You don’t get too many chances to play in World Cups, but playing a World Cup in Brazil.”
England’s performance in the Brazilian sun was an improvement on Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland at Wembley.
And Milner believes the Three Lions’ second-half display in particular is an encouraging sign ahead of key qualifying clashes in September and October.
“It’s obviously a good result, although we’re slightly disappointed not to win when we were ahead,” he added.
“You don’t want to finish on a bad note and then have four weeks to go and think about it before you can put it right.”
Back in Manchester, Chilean boss Manuel Pellegrini looks set to take the Etihad Stadium hot seat, following Roberto Mancini’s sacking in May.
However, the midfielder was not interested in discussing the management situation and instead looked forward to the new campaign.
“Obviously there are strong rumours at the moment so until it’s announced I don’t want to say too much,” Milner said.
“But it’s a fresh start and hopefully we can hit the ground running, start well next year, and win that title back.”
Image courtesy of FATV, via YouTube, with thanks.
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