England fans think current squad is best since 1966 ahead of Hungary clash

Gareth Southgate's current England squad has been backed as the strongest put together by the Three Lions in over 50 years despite their recent Euro 2020 final heartbreak.

Led by skipper Harry Kane, England conceded just two goals throughout the tournament and made it all the way to a penalty shoot-out in the final following semi-final defeat at the 2018 World Cup.

With the players now regrouping for 2022 World Cup qualifiers, fans have been left with high expectations if their confidence in the current squad is anything to go by.

A YouGov survey of more than 1000 UK football fans for Betfair has shown that 64% of England supporters believe that the current squad is the best the country has had since 1966.

Further figures show that 87% of Three Lions fans believe that Southgate is the right man to take England to the next World Cup, and that 79% think he should say even if they don't win the tournament.

Furthermore, 25% of fans are more likely to watch the upcoming qualifiers following the impressive Euro 2020 outings, with 21% expecting England to win the tournament next year.

The survey also asked which player might be England's best in Qatar, with Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane making up the top three with 17%, 12% and 11% respectively.

In terms of fresh faces that supporters want to see at the next tournament after they missed out on the Euros, Mason Greenwood is unsurprisingly top with 39% of the responses.

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Next up are Jesse Lingard (32%), Patrick Bamford (22%), James Maddison (18%) and Emile Smith Rowe (15%).

With England taking on each of Hungary, Andorra and Poland away in the space of seven days, 84% want to see Grealish start, with 66% of fans backing Harry Kane to go on as captain.

The numbers for other home nations are not quite so positive, with only 36% of fans believing that Scotland will qualify for the World Cup after going out in the group at Euro 2020.

There is more hope over Wales with 57% backing them to qualify, and 80% of fans from that nation expecting to see them on the biggest stage.

Only 16% are expecting to see Northern Ireland in Qatar and 23% of the locals.

The Betfair favourites to lift the trophy in order are France, Brazil, Germany, Italy and England.

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