Eric played against African opposition with England for the first time when the Three Lions overcame Nigeria 2-1 at Wembley Stadium in a pre-tournament friendly – Gary Cahill and Harry Kane scoring the goals for the home side in the first half – and the occasion whetted his appetite ahead of the Group G opener against Tunisia in Volgograd (7pm UK).
“One of the great things about the World Cup is playing against nations that we would never play in normal circumstances,” said Eric, who has made 26 appearances and scored three goals for England. “Obviously, we don’t play against teams like this in World Cup or European qualifying and in friendlies we rarely play against teams from other continents as well.