DON’T START WATCHING BRAZIL
Southgate tells England to claim their scalps and not their shirts
GARETH SOUTHGATE has warned his England players not to go souvenir-hunting when they face Brazil tonight.
Names like Neymar, Dani Alves, Philippe Coutinho and Gabriel Jesus make Brazil the glamour side of world football. But Southgate, no fan of players targeting a bigname rival’s shirt once the final whistle goes, has told his young side to treat the Samba Boys like any other opponents. “I’ve got a wardrobe full of shirts at home and I think they’re all full-backs’ because it wasn’t high on my list of priorities to go and swap,” said Southgate. “There are a probably a load of full- backs saying ‘I’ve got f***ing Gareth Southgate’s shirt’ so I accept that it works both ways!
“I used to talk to young players about this at Middlesbrough. I remember hauling David Wheater over the coals because he bowled off with Thierry Henry’s shirt after a game.
“I said: ‘Where do you think that leaves you when you play him again next time? He’ll treat you like a young fan.’
“You are either going toe-to-toe with these guys or you are just there for the ride. That’s how I always felt managing teams against Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho and all of those guys.
“We went there to win and we won a fair number against the bigger teams. The manager sets the tone for that so I’m not sitting here saying how wonderful it is that we are playing Brazil and what a great experience it is for me.
“It’s more a case of how we set the team up to be successful and make sure we are well prepared.”
The 0-0 draw against world champions Germany on Friday has given Southgate confidence in young players such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jordan Pickford and that has put pressure on more senior players who know they will have to work harder to keep their places, with the World Cup finals just seven months away.
Southgate said: “Someone asked me if it was giving me selection headaches? No, because I really want to see competition for places. The best way to get the maximum out of a player is to make sure he has competition for his place. You don’t give him the chance to take his foot off the gas in training or in any of the matches. “And then he has to perform. “That’s what you want – intense competition for places.
“Coutinho hasn’t played for a few weeks for Liverpool but he is there for Brazil – I imagine part of that is because he is thinking ‘If I’m not there and I’m not playing, will I ever get the shirt back?’”
England won few plaudits for qualifying for Russia from an easy group but Southgate knows praise will be more forthcoming if they can match opponents like Brazil.
“The more you beat these top top teams, the more confidence you take with you,” said the England coach, who was delighted with the performance of his young side on Friday. “I think we are at different stage of our development so I have got to balance our desire to win games with some experimentation.
“We could set up to play a certain way to give ourselves a better chance of winning an individual game – with more experienced players – but I think it is important for us to experiment.”