Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterFormer England striker Emile Heskey insists the Three Lions squad must embrace positivity and shut out the external noise if they are to finally end their 60 years of hurt and win the World Cup this summer.The ex-Liverpool and Leicester City striker turned out 62 times for England during an 11-year international career that saw him play at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups.During that time, he became well aware of the levels of scrutiny that come with playing for the England side, a pressure that has only heightened in recent years following the emergence of social media. You may like EXCLUSIVE Jordan Pickford says England glory depends on 'whether we can put out the best version of ourselves' This group havent had the Golden Generations club success, but theyre putting everything together better Owen Hargreaves on his Thomas Tuchels side can eclipse his teams efforts Theres no better feeling than going to a World Cup, walking out before a game, seeing all the England fans there and knowing the whole world is watching Why Jordan Pickford thrives for the Three Lions Heskey on how to shut out the noiseFourFourTwo's essential 2026 World Cup pack!Get your hands on the newest issue of FourFourTwo - our ultimate World Cup pack! Featuring: Englands American dream, Jordan Pickford and Morgan Rogers, Scotlands return, Mauricio Pochettino Q&A, biggest upsets plus a huge wallchart and preview special!View DealTo succeed at tournament football, Heskey insists that confidence and freedom within the squad are paramount.They need to be positive, Heskey, who played in nine World Cup matches, scoring once, tells FourFourTwo. You dont want any negativity going into the first game you want to play with freedom.The 2010 tournament in South Africa began in a disappointing manner with a draw against the USA and this set the tone for an unhappy tournament, amid criticism from fans and media.But Heskey says its possible for the players to isolate themselves from that noise inside the team hotel.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Its easy to avoid social media, he continues. A lot of players will switch off from that, log out and focus solely on what theyre doing out there.You can put yourself in a bubble, which is good. Youre not really paying attention to what everyone else is saying.The only time is when you speak to family and friends, and they relay certain things.Different managers will obviously bring different approaches, with Heskey recalling how Kevin Keegan tackled the issue during his first tournament.When I went to Euro 2000, one of Kevin Keegans ploys was to spread the newspapers out in front of everyone, to show what people were saying, but not everyone deals with things that way some feed off that, but the majority of players dont want to see it.Nowadays, the best thing is to log out and keep focused on the task in hand.TOPICSEnglandWorld Cup 2026Joe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.With contributions fromJoe DonnohueSenior Digital Writer
