Jesse Lingard insists England did not give any thought to which was the ‘better’ side of the draw as their World Cup journey continues.
Argentina and Portugal have already been eliminated in the first knockout round, meaning early departures for their respective star players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
England face Colombia in a tough-looking last-16 match on Tuesday, with a quarter-final against Sweden or Switzerland awaiting them if they win.
The other half of the draw still features Brazil, France and Uruguay, but Lingard is adamant those considerations played no part in how the Three Lions approached their match against Belgium.
“For us, it is game by game, and see where it takes us,” Lingard said at an England press conference on Sunday.
“We have to concentrate one game at a time. We are going to have to play the big teams sooner or later, and if you want to be the best team in the world, you have got to beat the big teams.
“We are not really fussed what side (of the draw) we got chosen on.”
