• World Cup

Gerrard says England 'are ready to go'

Steven Gerrard believes the Poland tactics will be similar to Montenegro's © PA Photos

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England captain Steven Gerrard insists the prospect of missing out on automatic qualification for next summer's World Cup finals has not crossed the mind of Roy Hodgson's squad ahead of their decisive qualifier against Poland on Tuesday night.

Another Wembley victory would seal England's ticket to next summer's World Cup in Brazil and Gerrard is confident the confidence gained from Friday night's thumping 4-1 win against Montenegro will banish any negative thoughts heading into the Poland game.

"None of the players have mentioned the play-offs," stated the Liverpool midfielder. "We want to seize this opportunity and do the job. 90,000 [fans], a full house at Wembley on the back of a good performance the other night, we are ready to go.

"I'm think the Poland tactics will be very similar to Montenegro. They will want to defend really well and make it as difficult as possible.

It is important that we show patience, but I think the attacking players that we have got, it will only be a matter of time before the breakthrough comes. We are that confident."

Gerrard admitted he feels a responsibility to guide England to what will be the final World Cup of his celebrated career, as he insisted the attack-minded team that swept Montenegro aside on Friday offered a glimpse to a bright future for the England team.

"The belief and the confidence has always been there," added Gerrard.

"We know a lot of people have had negative opinions outside of the group, but that's not important. The players have trust of the manger and the confidence and belief has always been there.

"From a personal point of view, this game is huge. When Roy gave me the captaincy on a permanent basis after Euro 2012, the job for me was to try and lead the boys to Brazil.

"It is going to be a fantastic carnival of a tournament out there and everyone wants to be part of it. The supporters and the players are not different. That's why it's so important to get the win against Poland."

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