England need a miracle if they are to win the World Cup, says Kyle Walker.
The Manchester City defender has won the first trophies of his career this season, collecting the EFL Cup and Premier League crowns after joining from Tottenham.
Walker thrived in an unfamiliar role on the right side of a back three in England’s March friendlies against Italy and Netherlands, while Gareth Southgate’s side have also held Germany and Brazil to draws after qualifying unbeaten for the World Cup.
Yet although the 27-year-old does not doubt the talent in the England ranks ahead of Russia 2018, Walker is setting low expectations for the Three Lions.
“I hope we can go as far as we can go, but we need to be realistic,” Walker told talkSPORT.
“To win the World Cup is going to be a miracle, but we have got the players to do it. A lot of us play in probably the best league in the world.
“We’ve got the players to do it, but have we got the experience going further along in competitions? No we haven’t. Not in recent years.
“We need to be realistic. There are a lot of good teams out there and our record in tournaments has not been fantastic.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations inside the camp – England haven’t won a knockout game for God knows how many years [their last victory was in 2006], so for us to go there and win a knockout game, that would be a step in the right direction.”
England progressed through the group stage at Euro 2016 only to suffer a shock loss to Iceland in their first knockout match at the tournament.
