Barkley: England on path to become the best in the world

Ross Barkley thinks England are on the path to become the best international team in the world with the current talent at their disposal.
England recovered from a goal down to win 5-1 in Montenegro, a game where Barkley scored twice and played huge roles in two other goals.
It leaves England in a very comfortable position to qualify for the European Championships through Group A after recording back-to-back victories over the international break.
England now look ahead to June’s UEFA Nations League and have won five consecutive matches for the first time under Southgate having scored five for the second time in four days.
Barkley feels there is no limit to what this exciting young team can achieve.
“Our aim is to be the best country in the world,” he said.
“You can see how much quality we’ve got in the squad, plus we’ve got players that can come in. Everyone gets on really well and the future looks bright.
“It’s a great time to support England as we’ve got some talent in there. I’ve trained with Jadon [Sancho] and seen the U21’s, U20’s – there’s so much talent. There’s no fear in them when they come to the senior team.
“There’s bound to be expectation after the World Cup – it was unbelievable. We’ve come back and kicked on. We can still improve – our target is to be the best country in the world and we’re on the right path.”
Barkley scored as many goals against Montenegro as he had done in his previous 26 games for England and after missing the World Cup with injury, has developed into a key player for Gareth Southgate since the summer’s achievements.
“I’d probably say this was my best game,” he said.
“I’ve had a hand in creating goals and scoring goals – but it’s more about the team effort. Over the years it’s been difficult to come to places like Montenegro – they made it hard for us in the first 10-15 minutes but we showed a lot of character.”