‘Emotional aspect’ vital to top Scots: Southgate
England manager wary of added element to today’s derby at Euros
Scotland may be ranked only the 44th-best nation in the world, may have a Derby County reserve in goal and may have fluffed their first game in a major tournament in 23 years, but they also represent the sternest test England have faced since their World Cup semifinal defeat by Croatia.
Gareth Southgate’s side need to pass it convincingly to prove they are true contenders for Euro 2020.
The occasion (kickoff is at 7am this morning) and all the baggage associated with facing a wounded but dangerous Scotland means the stakes are at their highest.
Southgate concedes that, as much as the technical and tactical aspects of being prepared, he has to make sure the “emotional aspect” is taken care of with the players. Those emotions would certainly be tested with the wrong result ahead of the final group game against the Czech Republic, who showed how dangerous they could be in deflating Scotland at Hampden Park this week.
It is not just the pressure of tournament football that England have to deal with, but the vagaries of a derby, in which their clear superiority may be nullified — at least for a while — by the blood and thunder of history and adrenalin.
So Southgate acknowledged there was more at stake than three points.
“There is this additional factor that we’re all aware of and that makes winning an even bigger prize, but we can’t be too distracted by that,” he said. “We know for our supporters the additional edge a game with one of the home nations has — for both sides.
“We are representing our country and we have to have a sense of what it means for our supporters to perform at our very best and do them proud. We have to balance that by making sure that our preparation is about the performance, but not underprepare in that emotional aspect.”
Monday’s win over Croatia was by a slender 1-0 but was far more convincing than that, as England not only won an opening group game at a European Championships for the first time at the 10th attempt but arguably defeated a leading nation in a finals for the first time in 90 minutes since their victory over Argentina at the 2002 World Cup.
Indeed, so assured and mature was it that it drew praise from experienced Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci, who knows a thing or two about controlling games and keeping clean sheets.
“For the approach they showed, the way they were willing to work hard for one another and the fact they sought three points, England are the team that have impressed me most so far,” Bonucci said. High praise.
Southgate is also well aware, from his experience as a player with England at Euro ’96, that momentum builds during a tournament and it is not always those nations who get off to a flier who win it. Still, two wins from two — and another convincing one at that — would secure England’s status in the bracket of favourites.
France are already there, with the world champions beating Germany in Munich, and Italy have put in two emphatic performances. Belgium also showed their mettle in coming from behind against Denmark to also take six points so far. So do England need a statement performance to reinforce their credentials? Southgate did not disagree.
We know for our supporters the additional edge a game with one of the home nations has — for both sides.
England manager Gareth Southgate
“Certainly, what we’ve talked about all week is how do we get better?” he explained. “That’s always got to be the aim. When you’ve got the players for a longer period of time, you’ve got the chance to reflect back on the previous game and see the areas it’s possible to improve upon.
“To go any distance in this tournament, we are going to have to do that [get better]. We are seeing some excellent performances in the other games, not just from the likes of Italy and Belgium, who we know have been outstanding teams for a couple of years now, but we have to keep improving and we shouldn’t settle for what was a good performance the other day in what was one under the spotlight, with some players coming in the early stages of their international careers. But we know we can get better and have to get better.”
A convincing win — in score and performance — against Scotland would provide further evidence of that. With the temperature soaring, England coped superbly against Croatia. It will be cooler at Wembley today but there will undoubtedly be a different kind of heat to deal with.