Captain Harry Kane says England's bid to end their World Cup drought stretching back over half a century will not be undone by a divided squad. The striker said there were no cliques within the squad that left for Russia yesterday seeking to emulate their 1966 predecessors in lifting the trophy. Both Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard claimed the reason they and the others who made up the so-called 'golden generation' fell short at successive finals was they could not shake off their different club rivalries when they joined up with their England teammates.

Kane, though, said this is not the case with the present group under Gareth Southgate — as many of them have played with each other at U-21 level. "It's not something we've had to deal with really — we all get on very well and have come through the ranks together," said Kane. "We don't have that divide in the team anymore."