Gareth Southgate will remain as manager of England past the 2018 World Cup regardless of the results.

England's Group G is considered fairly easy as they will play Belgium, Panama and Tunisia.

Gareth has a long-term contract,” said FA chief executive Martin Glenn. “He’s not looking at Russia as a free pass. The World Cup’s a really important staging post for our development, I think. We go out there wanting to win it but also being realistic. No one wants to have a bad World Cup but we’re confident he’s the right guy to take us through for the next few tournaments.”

Southgate was appointed on a four-year contract in November 2016 after Sam Allardyce’s one-game, 67-day reign ended following a newspaper sting.