Southgate: I have 11 or 12 players who are going to be difficult to leave out
Gareth Southgate admitted last night’s victory over Costa Rica had given him plenty to think about ahead of England’s World Cup opener against Tunisia.
Southgate and his players have two days off before meeting up again tomorrow night. They travel to Russia on Tuesday, and the England manager will have a lot on his mind. He must make big decisions over his team: including whether Rashford did enough to put pressure on Raheem Sterling.
Asked about Rashford’s display, Southgate said: “For me, at the end of the season, he cares so much you can see he was trying too hard. The goal was world class. He’s teasing defenders by the touchline. His performance wasn’t perfect, but he was enjoying his football and that was good to see.
“I have 11 or 12 who are going to be difficult to leave out. There is competition. It wasn’t first team v Nigeria and second team today. We have quality across the two lineups. [Fabian] Delph as a No8 is different to Dele [Alli] as a No8.”
Southgate confirmed he had no injury worries and that standby players Adam Lallana and Tom Heaton would leave the squad.
Asked if picking his team for the Tunisia match had been made harder, he replied: “Yes, no question. There are some decisions to take, but in a good way. If I was thinking I have nobody to play here or there, it would be a different situation.
“We asked the players to give us competition for places and they’ve done that.”
Rashford was one of the Manchester United players booed by sections of the Elland Road crowd, but Southgate was pleased with the atmosphere. With his players set to spend the next two days saying goodbye to their families, Southgate revealed he too would try to relax.
“[I’ll] probably try and watch my son play cricket and be at home with the family,” he said. “But no chance of switching off. It’s important for all our staff. We’ll watch the games back and have a couple of calls between the coaches, but it’s important to keep perspective.”
In the build-up to the Costa Rica game, Danny Rose admitted he had suffered with depression and family trauma. Asked for his reaction, Southgate said: “Incredibly brave and honest, and as a team we are hugely supportive of what he’s done. I think it’s been a relief for him to speak about it but he now wants to put it behind him.”