Harry Kane insists England’s ambitions will not be satisfied by a first appearance in a World Cup semi-final for 28 years and that “finishing the job” is the target in Russia.

England delirium has Gareth Southgate and his tyros dreaming big | Daniel Taylor Read more

Croatia await on Wednesday in the last four, with only six members of Gareth Southgate’s squad even born the last time the English graced such an occasion, against West Germany in July 1990. While expectations from the outside have been realistic through much of this campaign, the squad’s faith in their own quality has been unwavering and the captain, his side 90 minutes from a World Cup final, has made his intent clear.

“We feel proud – proud to have made the fans proud,” said Kane, who remains two goals clear of Romelu Lukaku in the race for the Golden Boot. “That’s what we wanted to do when we set out. We wanted to play good football, work hard, play with passion, and we have done that. So we are enjoying it. We can see the fans enjoying it here and back home and so we have just got to try and keep it going. We are one step closer to what is the biggest game in football as a professional. We said we wanted to write our own history. Hopefully we can go one step further than 1990 and get to the final.

“It’s been a long time since England have done well in a major tournament, and we’ve got a tough game coming up against Croatia, but we feel confident.

“We felt so composed against Sweden and, looking around, everyone was on the same wavelength. Everyone was calm and that’s what we need if we want to go all the way.

“We had that sense before the game that we didn’t want to go home just yet. We don’t want to let anyone down and we want to be here until the end. Now we’re one step closer. We are not finished yet. Everyone wants to finish the job and go all the way.”

Jordan Henderson, who expects to train on Monday in Zelenogorsk despite being forced from the field with a tight hamstring during the comfortable win against Sweden on Saturday, and Jamie Vardy, recovered from groin trouble, should both be fit. Southgate and his medical team will monitor the squad, with the schedule suddenly far more onerous.

The players have been motivated further by footage of the celebrations in England, shared on social media, as they target a first appearance in the final since 1966. “I feel we want to achieve a lot more,” Dele Alli said. “That’s the great thing: we are a hungry squad. We want to keep achieving and improving together. We are not the finished article but we’ve got to the semi-finals of the World Cup, so we are excited.

“It gives me the shivers when I think about the celebrations back home. We owe them a lot of thanks as well for the way they have supported us. We have seen the reactions back home and it’s been unbelievable, so we will hopefully give them many more great moments.”