NO TIME TO LOSE
Southgate is determined to beat group rivals Belgium... even if it means facing Brazil
GARETH SOUTHGATE has vowed to go all-out to beat Belgium – even at the risk of a potential quarter-final clash with Brazil.
He takes England into Thursday’s Group G decider knowing the runners-up may have an easier path through the knockout phase.
The Three Lions boss is likely to make changes but says it would be “dangerous territory” to ease off and deliberately try to lose.
Roy Hodgson paid a heavy price in Euro 2016 when he made mass changes, drew the final group match with Slovakia and ended up being knocked out by Iceland.
Southgate said: “For our country
that would be a very difficult mindset to have. We want to win every game of football we go into. “I don’t know how we would go into a game not wanting to win and not wanting to play well. “So I think that’s dangerous territory if we start trying to plot and predict where we might end up. We had a really favourable draw, we all thought, in the last tournament and it didn’t work out that way. “I think we just have to keep playing as well as we can, keep preparing the team the right way, keep the momentum and I have to keep the squad involved. That’s the one thing I think is really important.”
Southgate hinted he will make some changes for Kaliningrad but warned the balance must be right in giving fringe players time on the pitch while not stopping the momentum generated by winning the first two games.
He added: “I’ve got to think through all of those things – competition for places, players who need match minutes and keeping the unity of the squad.”