England manager Gareth Southgate has told ESPN FC that the continued development of his team is more important than reaching a certain round of the World Cup.
Southgate will hope to improve on England's showing in recent tournaments after they were knocked out in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup and the round of 16 at Euro 2016.
The former England under-21 coach said his focus was not only on the current World Cup but also on the tournaments that will follow.
"I could sit here and say this round or that round -- but it doesn't mean anything, really, because we have to keep improving as a team," Southgate said when asked what he would see as a successful World Cup.
"We're trying to change the style of play -- we have our young players developing with better technical ability with the ball. We know these players and we believe that, in the long term, some of them can be world class players.
"Maybe there are other players a bit older playing in the league who might be better now or more experienced, but we don't think we could win a World Cup with them in future and would rather invest time and show belief in young players we think could be world class.
"For a long time, we have worried about what might go wrong -- but we have to look at how far can we go and how far can we progress."
Southgate added that informing players they would not be going to the World Cup was "the most difficult conversation" a coach can have.
He is set to confirm his 23-man England squad on Wednesday afternoon, with sources telling ESPN FC that he will omit West Ham goalkeeper Joe Hart and include in-form Burnley No. 1 Nick Pope.
"For any coach, it is the most difficult conversation because any time you pick a team and leave a player out ... having been a player, I know how upsetting that is," he said.
"Everyone wants to play in a World Cup -- everyone wants to play in every match.
"We have a couple of injuries, unfortunately, which means players definitely can't go, and the other decisions for us have become clearer as the season has gone on. It's exciting, now, to look forward to the tournament."
Southgate also addressed the potential sale of Wembley to Shahid Khan.
Khan, the owner of Fulham and the Jacksonville Jaguars, has made the Football Association an £800 million offer to purchase the 80,000-seat stadium.
"Of course it is a very important decision for our board, and they will take time to make sure they consider everything," Southgate said.
"There are positives to having money to invest within the game, and of course it's important for us that the England team are able to play at Wembley in the future. The deal will only happen if it's the best deal possible for everyone."