Southgate opens his Hart on squad ENGLAND COACH SAYS VETERAN FACING STRONG COMPETITION FROM PICKFORD IN GOAL
areth Southgate has suggested that he already knows the 23man squad he wants to take to next summer’s World Cup and that Joe Hart is now facing strong competition as first-choice goalkeeper from Jordan Pickford.
The England manager also intimated that the squad he takes to Russia will be youthful.
“Clearly, it’s not ideal in terms of what you’d want for a major tournament in terms of how far you might progress and the lack of big-game experience,” he said. “However, I think it’s exciting. We’ve got a freshness about us, an energy about us, that people have enjoyed. We’re a young team.”
Hart, one of the elder statesman at 30, will start against Brazil at Wembley today, with Jack Butland having withdrawn from the squad with a broken finger but following Pickford’s impressive debut against Germany, Southgate said he had greater competition for who will play in goal.
“Jordan had an excellent game,” Southgate said. “Good experience for him, we can wrap him up now, he can go back [to Everton], we assess him now in the next period with his club and good that he goes away with a real positive experience. Now’s an opportunity for Joe to have experience against top opposition as well and we’re all aware that there’s really good competition for places in that area of the pitch.
“We’ve got a period now of six months where all our goalkeeping department can show what they can do. What he [Pickford] has shown is that he’s been able to make his debut at Wembley, play with composure, show all the things that he’s got. He’s still a young goalkeeper who is still learning, there’s things for him to improve on but it was a really positive debut.”
Both Hart and Pickford are expected to be in Southgate’s squad for Russia, with just the Brazil game and two more warm-up matches in March before he needs to make his selection. The manager said that having suffered eight players pulling out through injury — and a ninth, Phil Jones, returning to his club with a fitness issue — he expects — everyone to be available in four months’ time.
Biggest stage
“I think if we had to pick a 23 tomorrow, we would know what it is,” Southgate said. “We will constantly update that. Some of that will be on form but a lot of that will be on the players who we think are capable of performing on the biggest stage.”
He added: “I think we would be very close to the 23 in March but there’s obviously four or five players perhaps that aren’t with us through injury now. So I don’t think it can be as clear-cut as that. But, for sure, I think in our minds we’re getting closer. We’ve almost got a big jigsaw puzzle now, we know how we want to play, what are the pieces that fit into it, who would be our preferred choices.”
Following England’s encouraging performance in the goalless draw at home to Germany, Southgate is also more committed than ever to playing with three at the back and two strikers in a 3-5-2. The alternative is a 3-4-2-1 approach, which would suit Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Adam Lallana, none of whom are in this squad.
“I think everybody saw that system and what it allowed us to do the other night and what it might allow us to do moving forward,” Southgate said. “I like the idea that we can get two forwards on the pitch. Not so many teams do that these days and it’s not a problem that defenders have to face so often which can give you something that causes an opposition a fresh challenge.”
Southgate is committed to youth, with the debut of 21-year-old Ruben LoftusCheek possibly even good enough for him to force his way into the World Cup squad.
Southgate has also called up three more young players: goalkeeper Angus Gunn, midfielder Lewis Cook and striker Dominic Solanke from the under-21s. “It’s been pleasing to see Angus now playing regular first-team football [on loan from Manchester City at Norwich City], it’s his first season doing that,”
Southgate said. “With Dom and Lewis, we’re talking about a reward, really, for one captaining the Under-20 World Cup winners and the other one the golden boot winner. Both have won at European under-17 level and the World Cup at under-20, so their pedigree is good and we’re looking forward to integrating them into the seniors.”