OPINION: Can a sports pyschologist and a friendlier media finally help England win the World Cup again?

It's been a long ling time since England have won the World Cup. 50 years on from that famous day, Conor Keane takes a look at what England need to do to win it once again.
England U21 v Belarus U21
Englands Luke Garbutt is hackred down by Yahuhen LeshkaEngland U21 v Belarus U21
Englands Luke Garbutt is hackred down by Yahuhen Leshka
England U21 v Belarus U21 Englands Luke Garbutt is hackred down by Yahuhen Leshka

There are many things England need to do to win the World Cup. It will take many years of fine tuning to get right and lots of preparation involving our young players.

Firstly, the most important thing England needs to win another World Cup is confidence.

For many years now we have seen the national side falter under pressure in the tournaments. This is due to the pressure of the games getting inside the players’ heads and affecting their mentality when they wear the England shirt for 90 minutes.

This needs to be addressed by the players regularly visiting a sports psychologist who can help them confront their stress and fear of not succeeding by convincing them that the nation are behind them no matter the result.

Leading on from this, the press and national reaction needs to stop the negativity towards the players and the results as that seriously affects the players’ state of mind and dramatically lowers their confidence.

If all this would be toned down, including expectations, the England team may feel less pressure and play with the form from their domestic clubs that got them a call-up to the England squad in the first place.

The young talents such as Marcus Rashford and Dele Alli need to stop being burdened with such hope and expectation for the future.

This is because the players are only young adults, Rashford only just turning 19. This means that they will feel a lot of pressure if they are tipped to be the next David Beckham or Teddy Sheringham. Without this expectation, the youngsters can flourish in their own environment and get the fans excited when they reach the peak form of their playing career.

Finally, the team needs to bond, the philosophy Leicester City used in their fairy tale title win as it allowed the players to become closer as friends, more or less becoming a family which allowed them to support and play with each other with the motivation and belief which made them defy all the odds to win the Premier League title.

If the FA were to bring in this philosophy, the England players will have the belief to achieve what this nation wants once more, the World Cup.