Southgate issues warning as England trio set to miss out

GARETH SOUTHGATE has warned his young players that they risk damaging the relationship between the England team and the public after the latest breach of Covid rules.

Southgate revealed that Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho will miss today’s friendly against Wales. The trio breached Covid-19 guidelines when they reportedly gathered for a surprise birthday party for Chelsea striker Abraham and are yet to join up with Southgate’s 30-man squad.

Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden were sent home from Iceland last month after breaking bubble rules.

While the run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup helped build bridges with the country and with England fans, Southgate has warned the younger players who have come into his squad since that they may not have the same good faith from the public if rules continue to be broken.

“I’ve talked before about the connection with the fans that we’ve worked very hard over the last three or four years to bring back,” Southgate said. “Key to that has been the contribution of players that have been with us. We’ve got 10 with us this time who were with us in Russia.

“They’ve done a lot of good work with us, with their clubs and in the communities and they’ve played well and got results.

“Some of the younger ones haven’t done that yet with England. They don’t have that credit in the bank.

“They’ve got to prove themselves and they have got to remember that it is an honour to play for England and all these things moving forward do play a part in your thinking.

“I’m not going to be too moralistic because we’ve all made errors in our lives. I’ve been a player, I’ve had nights out so I’m not sitting here saying that I haven’t done any of the things,” he added. “But we’re living in really unique times with the Covid regulations.”