Defender Matthew Upson is confident the rumour and speculation surrounding the England camp in recent days will simply serve to strengthen their resolve.
Their 1-0 victory over Group C rivals Slovenia came after former captain John Terry sparked talk of rifts within the camp. However, there was no lack of unity on Wednesday, and Upson believes a stronger bond has been formed.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "You can use all those things and use all the rumours and all the accusations as fuel to improve and succeed. That's something we have improved on as a team and I think we can still get better at it."
Years | Winners | Runner-up | Third place |
2006 | Italy | France | Germany |
2002 | Brazil | Germany | Turkey |
1998 | France | Brazil | Croatia |
1994 | Brazil | Italy | Sweden |
1990 | Germany | Argentina | Italy |
1986 | Argentina | Germany | France |
1982 | Italy | Germany | Poland |
1978 | Argentina | Holland | Brazil |
1974 | Germany | Holland | Poland |
1970 | Brazil | Italy | Germany |
1966 | England | Germany | Portugal |
1962 | Brazil | Czech | Chile |
1958 | Brazil | Sweden | France |
1954 | Germany | Hungary | Austria |
1950 | Uruguay | Brazil | Sweden |
1938 | Italy | Hungary | Brazil |
1934 | Italy | Czech | Germany |
1930 | Uruguay | Argentina | America |