FINAL COULD RUIN GARETH PLANS

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Dutch. “It could be a mess,” said the England boss. “Let’s say two of our teams made it to the Champions League final.

“We wouldn’t see the players, at best, until the Monday before we play on the Thursday. So, good luck with that.

'We’ve been in a semi-final, qualified six months ago, and what a great opportunity to win something. But then you don’t actually get the team together.” Southgate’s England side (captain Harry Kane, below) are back in action this month in their Euro 2020 qualifiers, against the Czech Republic on March 22, and Montenegro three days later.

He fears the emotional intensity of reaching

European football’s elite club competition could also adversely affect his stars. He added: “With the emotion of that game (Champions League final), can those players even realistically play on the Thursday night for us? The squad would all need a period where they would need to psychologically switch off, and we’d have to look at Champions League final players when we got to it.”