Southgate: We can’t rely on home comforts

GARETH SOUTHGATE has warned his England players it is time to prove themselves away from the home comforts of Wembley. England have six games before the World Cup in November with only one of those — the Nations League fixture against Germany on September 26 — at Wembley. They reached the Euros final last year with six of their seven games at the national stadium. Southgate’s side play in Hungary tonight before travelling to Munich for Tuesday’s clash in Germany, after which they face

Italy and Hungary at Molineux. ‘It will help us experience a different crowd dynamic,’ said Southgate. ‘A lot of games last year were at Wembley. (There are) a lot of things players and staff are familiar with and have more control over at home. ‘There have been some different things we have done this week, like training on different pitches. That’s all part of changing things so we don’t get too comfortable.’ Southgate is surprised 36,000 fans will be let into tonight’s behind-closed-doors clash. The Hungarian FA are serving a two-match stadium ban after fan trouble during Euro 2020, but a loophole in UEFA’s rules means there is no limit on the number of schoolchildren invited for free, with one adult accompanying every 10 kids. ‘We are all surprised,’ said Southgate. ‘But we are inviting children into our stadium (against Italy next week). I wasn’t clear on the rules of any of it at the start of all of this.’