Fabio Capello has issued an open letter to England supporters with under three weeks to go until the start of the FIFA World Cup.
Capello is urging fans to get behind the team for their opening match against the United States on Saturday 12 June. The tournament gets under way the previous day and will see the eyes of the world on South Africa for a month until the final on 11 July.
The England manager will take a major step towards the finals with tonight's last home friendly at Wembley. The Three Lions welcome Mexico with the potential for a trio of West Ham United players to be involved.
Robert Green, Matthew Upson and Scott Parker are all hoping to stake their claim for a spot in the final 23-man squad. England will return to Austria for a training camp after the match, with a last warm-up game against Japan in Graz next Sunday.
whufc.com will have full text coverage from tonight's match with exclusive video interviews to follow on WHUTV.
Here is Capello's letter in full:
Dear England,
Saturday 12 June is an important date for my England team, our first game in the World Cup.
Throughout qualification we enjoyed fantastic support from everyone in England. The players know that when they wear the England shirt they are playing for the whole nation.
So when we are in South Africa we will have all of you, our fans, in our thoughts. We know you will be with us in every moment and at every stage.
12 June will also be an important day for those people back home. It will be England Football Day, a day to celebrate all of English football.
In England we each share a wonderful passion for the game. But I believe we must also share the responsibility to inspire a new generation to play the game.
So as we take out first steps on to the pitch at the World Cup, I would like as many people as possible to take their first steps in football. I would like more people to play, more people to coach, more people to referee - more people to be involved in every area of the game.
I ask everyone to take part, you can find more information on what is happening on this day here.
Every person in England is part of our squad, we are one team. On 12 June let's come together for England.
Fabio Capello