The England team travelling to the World Cup this summer could be the country’s strongest in decades, according to the manager of Tunisia, against whom Gareth Southgate’s side will open their campaign on 18 June.

Nabil Maâloul said England have finally “evolved”, thanks partly to the influence of top foreign managers in the Premier League, and should be considered as one of the favourites to be crowned world champions this summer.

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“The English have understood recently that they had to change their ideas about the game and follow the evolution of world football,” Maâloul said. “If they continued to play as they did in the past, they could not progress. With great managers like Guardiola, Conte, Mourinho, Wenger and so on, they are starting to change their mentality and their ideas about the game. Their style of play is no longer about hitting the ball long and running after it.

“Things have progressed enormously. And on top of the new style they have some very strong individuals. Players such as Sterling, Kane, Alli and Lingard can change a game at any moment. They are among the favourites for this tournament.”

Maâloul was speaking in Nice, where his team play Costa Rica on Tuesday as part of their preparations for the World Cup. Those preparations got off to a winning start against Iran on Saturday thanks to a 1-0 home victory in Radès. Maâloul gave debuts in that match to three players who were called up following a recruitment drive among France-born players with Tunisian heritage. The trio included the Leicester City defender Yohan Benalouane, plus the Montpellier midfielder Ellyes Skhiri and the Troyes midfielder Saîf-Eddine Khaoui.

Maâloul will give another player of dual nationality a debut on Tuesday, as Mouez Hassen, a goalkeeper on loan at Châteauroux from Nice, will be given a chance to stake a claim for the No 1 jersey, for which several players are vying.

Maâloul has hinted that he may experiment with a new formation against Costa Rica by introducing a five-man defence. Further forward, Tunisia will again be without their most creative individual, with Youssef Msakni recovering from a slight muscle injury.