FIFA World Cup: Kiwis' doc the key to England's mind game

Dr Pippa Grange. Photo / Supplied

The Kiwis' former sports psychologist is now one of the most important members of England's backroom staff at the World Cup.

Several England players have spoken about the importance of squad psychologist Dr Pippa Grange as they gear up for one of the country's biggest football matches in years.

But before the self-described "culture performance coach" joined the English Football Association, Grange was charged with improving the culture of the Kiwis after a poor showing in the 2011 Four Nations.

After a loss to England in Hull in 2011, the then New Zealand Rugby League boss Jim Doyle realised that something about the culture of the Kiwis needed to change.

The NZRL ended up landing on Grange after hearing about her work in Australia with the AFL, and managed to convince her to join the Kiwis' backroom staff over other interested parties including the Melbourne Storm NRL club.

Grange has since moved on and is now an integral part of England's best performance at the Fifa World Cup in almost 30 years, which included a nerve-wrecking penalty shoot-out victory over Colombia.

The 47-year-old — who joined the English FA in November as their head of people and team development — has been hailed by many England players as crucial to developing their mental side of the game.

"Obviously, the psychologist is there for people and is always around for people to talk to," said Ashley Young, one of the oldest players in the England squad.

"Different people will speak to her differently. She's been fantastic throughout her time with the squad. It's a personal preference.

"Of course the mental side is important, but we've had it since the day we arrived here.

The fitness coaches have been unbelievable and the psychologists have helped as well."

Midfielder Dele Alli echoed Young's comments, saying Grange's expertise has proved to be a valuable tool.

"She's done a lot of work with us, she's an amazing person," said Alli. "You can see how hard she works and she really knows what she's talking about, she's helped us a lot.

Everyone listens to her when she talks."

Grange has been working with the English squad well before the World Cup, and her work has been evident during the tournament, said Eric Dier.

"A lot of the work that we've done with her has been leading up to the tournament, the last six or seven months," said Dier.

"Once we came into the tournament, a lot of what she could help with had already been done so it's been really simple. We've had consistency."

England face Croatia in Moscow in only the third World Cup semifinal in the country's history this morning.