England’s players are under orders to belt out the national anthem as they bid to make the country proud by reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

Gareth Southgate’s team face Colombia in the last 16 on Tuesday night and the England manager has made it clear he expects his squad to sing their hearts out for the nation.

In the past, players have been allowed to make their own minds up over whether or not they joined in with the anthem. But it has been a feature of this tournament that every member of the squad has sung the anthem loud and proud.

Ashley Young did not play for England for more than four years before being recalled by Southgate in 2017 and the 32-year-old has noticed in the difference in how the anthem is now approached by the players.

“When I came back into the squad, it was very important that everybody else knew the national anthem and sang their hearts out,” said Young.