England star Luke Shaw has told talkSPORT the Three Lions need to ‘take another level’ against France in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
The left-back also admitted he thinks he and his team are far from their best, despite helping them beat Senegal in the first round of the knockout stages.
England’s 2022 World Cup campaign has been impressive so far, with Gareth Southgate’s side finishing top of their group and winning all but one game in Qatar.
Their only draw came in the 0-0 draw against the United States in their second game, but they still finished two points clear of the Stars and Stripes.
But for Shaw – who plays at his club football club Manchester United – he believes the England side can do a lot more going forward, especially against France on Saturday in the quarter-finals.
“The results we’ve had, the goals we’ve scored, and I think even sometimes we haven’t been at our best,” Shaw told talkSPORT.
“But we’re still hitting high numbers in goals scored, chances we’ve created. So I think that’s the positive thing that there’s obviously still more of us that we can do and get to another level.
“But at the moment the level is good, but as I said, we have to go to another level on Saturday night.”
The game against France will be a real test for the Three Lions, and Shaw should be tasked with stifling the threat of Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele.
But Shaw – who is expected to start on Saturday – told talkSPORT he believes England will be at their best if they are able to make the most of their attacking threat against the Blues.
He continued: “We have to impose ourselves I think, especially after the way we have been in recent games. I think the attacking approach when we do that sometimes is world class and can break any team.
“So I think we have to be front and center, we don’t want to get into the passive game and sit down and go.
“We have to be on the front foot, more attacking because with the talent we have we have to be like that, we have to be on the front foot.”
You can listen to all the action as England take on the reigning world champions live on talkSPORT, with kick-off scheduled for 7pm.
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