England are going in the right direction- Ross Barkley

The former Everton man has made 22 appearances for The Three Lions.

As a replacement to the ‘meaningless international friendlies’, UEFA devised the Nations League which kicked off back in September. The advent of the tournament naturally increased the competitiveness of the international matches played between the domestic seasons.

With the countries heading on towards the next round of the League this week, there are several key clashes worth watching. In one of the most awaited fixtures, 2018 FIFA World Cup finalists Croatia take on semifinalists England in their next match. It will be a rematch of their World Cup semi-finals which saw the Three Lions bow out after losing 2-1 against The Blazers.

Gareth Southgate’s England will once again face the difficult task to deal with Croatia’s top midfield duo of Luka Modric- the current FIFA Best Men’s Player and Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic. The tie between the two teams would be an intense one since both of them look to seal those three points after losing out to Spain in the first round.

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However, Ross Barkley, who makes a return to the Three Lions’ squad, is confident that his team can challenge their counterparts. He believes that England have that ability to outplay the Croatian duo with the newfound identity of the team that makes them a threat to any top team.

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“It’s a big challenge but just like any other player you come up against, you’ve got to treat every player with the same respect. But it will be a challenge,” Barkley stated. Adding to his statements, the 24-year-old midfielder praised Modric and Rakitic’s performance in the World Cup.

Since signing for Chelsea in the summer, Barkley scored his first goal for the Blues in a 3-0 win away at Southampton last weekend. The former Everton player has previously capped 22 times for his country and was called upon by Southgate for the upcoming Nations League draws after a couple of impressive performances in the Premier League. In his recent testament, Barkley looked quite confident with the Three Lions’ squad. “We went to the World Cup and got to the semi-finals and we’re going in the right direction.”