Wilshere cautious over England World Cup hopes

England midfielder Jack Wilshere has played down World Cup expectations but believes the Russian showpiece could be a stepping stone towards a brighter future for Gareth Southgate's inexperienced team.

The Arsenal player is hoping to win his first cap in nearly two years in warm-up friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy after battling back to recover his place in Arsene Wenger's team this season.

The squad Wilshere has rejoined is a far cry from the one he first broke into as a highly promising 18-year-old in 2010.

Shorn of talismanic striker Harry Kane through injury, Southgate's 27-man group is desperately thin on players performing regularly at the highest level.

"It's completely different. I remember the first time I walked into an England squad, I went for dinner the first time and there was (Wayne) Rooney, (Frank) Lampard, (Steven) Gerrard, (Rio) Ferdinand, (John) Terry -- big players who I had watched growing up," Wilshere said at England's training base.

"It's a different feel now. There's more young players, there's more of a group I think and there's more of a plan towards the future."
"If you look over the past years, especially Rio (before World Cup 2014) -- we were confident going into that and it didn't work out. And with this group of players, it wouldn't be fair."
Arsenal future in the balance
"I wasn't getting in the Arsenal team and the manager said I could leave if I wanted to," said the 26-year-old. "I was in the position that I did not know what was going to happen in the coming season."
"I want to go to the World Cup and enjoy it but we have three months till then and a lot can happen. Ideally from my point of view and the club's point of view, they will probably want it sorted."