TIME TO STRETCH SANCHO
Southgate wants to see Jadon put to test
WHEN Jadon Sancho steps out at St Mary’s tonight, chances are he won’t go into his shell. He won’t cave.
The more likely scenario would see this supremely gifted teenager flourish. Gareth Southgate, though, wants tangible proof.
‘I think we’ve got players that we need to find out more about, give experience to, but in games where there’s plenty riding on it, not when we’ve already qualified,’ said the England boss. ‘So we need to see people perform under pressure and how they’re going to cope.’
There you have it, Jadon. Go out, impress and make yourself undroppable. That’s your challenge tonight. Judging by his electric performances for Borussia Dortmund since breaking into their starting XI last season he is more than capable of thriving under the weight of that expectation.
Clearly, though, Southgate still needs some convincing. Maybe he remembers the 19-year-old’s previous competitive start when he was substituted in the 61st minute of England’s UEFA Nations League loss to Holland in June. Yet, there is a growing sense Southgate and his coaching staff feel that they cannot hold Sancho back any longer.
Staff at St George’s Park have marvelled at his performance in the Bundesliga. Goals, assists, vibrancy — everything Southgate wants his team to stand for. Sancho’s still a teenager but he could yet emerge as the leader of Southgate’s new era.
‘He’s adapted to international football very calmly. He’s quite quiet when we’re around and thoughtful,’ said Southgate. ‘He’s confident in his own ability, you can see that in the way that he plays. He’s one that, because of where he plays his club football, he still goes under the radar a little bit in terms of the quality of his performances and the level that he’s playing at every week. So, I said when I named the squad, he’s not a player we’re looking to hold back.
‘We talked really positively about the front three of Kane, Sterling and Rashford the other day. He’s in that sort of bracket, so we look at him and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who had such a big impact in his first couple of caps as well, and we’re very well served in those areas.’
Where Sancho’s emergence leaves Marcus Rashford remains to be seen. Southgate eulogised about his attacking triumvirate following Saturday’s win over Bulgaria — labelling the trio one of the best combinations in world football. But while Kane and Sterling appear two of only a handful of guaranteed starters, Rashford’s place in Southgate’s first- choice team is not as clear cut.
Of course, Sancho needs to turn it on first, starting with Kosovo tonight. But if he does, Rashford could be on the outside looking in.
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to be handed his latest audition to make the right-back berth his own this evening.
But by the end of tonight, Southgate will have a clearer vision of how reliant he can become on the 20-yearold Anfield defender. Southgate said: ‘We have to get the right balance between bringing through young players and qualifying. It’s a bit unique in that, normally, everybody just wants to qualify.
‘But we’ve always used every opportunity that we can to try and get the balance right and we know, at the back of our minds, the style of play to qualify is going to be different to playing at a tournament.
‘I remember Glenn Hoddle talking to us about that. I probably didn’t understand exactly what he meant but I’m more aware of that now.’
Sceptics will say the decision to field Sancho and Alexander-Arnold tonight against Kosovo, who are ranked 120th in the world, will do nothing to prove whether they can cut it in the upper echelons of international football.
There is credence to those assertions. Both are playing top-level domestic football and will be involved in the Champions League again this season. ‘If I look across Europe in general, you’d have to say there isn’t enough jeopardy in the qualification process to make all of the groups as exciting as they could be,’ admitted Southgate.
‘There are a lot of games, when I look across Europe, you’re going through the fixture list and I’m looking at the games each night and there’s maybe a couple that you really might want to tune in to.
‘I just think we have to be careful that we don’t devalue it. It’s hard because there are so many new countries now and so many countries to involve in the process, but we’ve got to do the right thing for the supporters as well.’