Gary Cahill: England prepared for France and Spain clashes
Saturday 10 October 2015 13:37, UK
Gary Cahill believes England are ready to test themselves against European heavyweights Spain and France in their marquee friendlies next month.
Roy Hodgson's side claimed a routine 2-0 victory over Estonia at Wembley on Friday night to maintain their 100 per cent record and remain on course for a perfect 10 victories in European Qualification.
England's place at next summer's finals in France was assured last month with a victory over Switzerland, but they will take on Lithuania on Monday wanting to end their Group E campaign with a win..
Next month, England face a daunting double-header as they travel to Spain before welcoming Euro 2016 hosts France to Wembley.
Cahill, who captained the side against Estonia in Wayne Rooney's absence, feels the squad must use those fixtures as a measuring stick for the finals.
"I think it will give a good marker for us," he said.
"We don't get carried away. We have work to do and we need to improve to have a chance in the summer, but we have done pretty well since the World Cup.
"The squad is changing with injuries but everyone is buying in to the philosophy of how the manager and staff want to play and it is working well, so long may that continue.
"They will be a good test. If we win them, great. If we don't, we have to take things from them. They will be tough, but they are ones we are looking forward to."
Hodgson's team are unbeaten since crashing out of last year's World Cup at the group stage, having added to their perfect qualifying record with friendly draws against Italy and the Republic of Ireland.
When asked if maintaining the record was now a matter of personal pride for the players, Cahill added: "For sure, but we don't want to get too carried away with it.
"Obviously we have done so much hard work from the disappointment in the summer. To get nine out of nine we want to finish the job and be a part of that record and hopefully we can do that."
