Eur not alone
Southgate tells Bellingham he’s amazing but star can’t win the finals on his own
GARETH SOUTHGATE admits Jude Bellingham is good – but not good enough to win the Euros for England on his own.
since Bellingham joining has Real been Madrid a revelation from Dortmund last summer. A string of stunning performances have seen him become one of the best footballers on the planet. Southgate admits the Three Lions are very lucky to have him in their ranks. But he has made it clear the team will need to step up and help Bellingham if they are to return from Euro 2024 in Germany this summer with a first trophy since 1966. Southgate said: “We are delighted to have him. who is He going is a to player have an game impact he plays on in. any “But equally we need to have 11, 16 , 23 , 25 (players), whatever it is, collectively delivering to be a team that can challenge and win a European Championship. “We can’t be relying on one person. individuals emphasis we’ve “Over had the a – years huge and on has then got an individual injured and there is nowhere to go. “The belief dissipates so you have to succeed as a team. “He (Bellingham) can be a hugely important part of that team, we recognise that, and we want to give him every licence to do that as well. But I repeat, he’s 20 and that load has to be shared by everybody.”
Meanwhile, Southgate launched a passionate defence of the St George’s flag after the shirt row.
But the Three Lions boss says the new “quirky” design should not even be recognised as the traditional English flag if it is not the simple white with a red cross.
The Football Association have issued a statement defending the new Nike shirt, insisting the St George’s flag “unifies and inspires” supporters.
But the FA say the purple and blue flag “celebrates” is a nod to the training kit worn by the 1966 World Cup heroes and also stress Umbro used different colours in previous kits. Southgate said: “My view is if it’s not white with a red cross it’s not the St George’s flag.
“The most important thing on the England shirt is the Three Lions really. That is the thing that is iconic, that differentiates us even from the England rugby team or the England cricket team.
“I am a huge patriot. I believe we should celebrate St George’s Day more than we do.
“The flag of St George … there’s an interesting history because years ago it was just the Union Jack following England. So there’s a lot of nuance to that.
“But the bit I understand … people don’t think we should change the flag of St George … if it’s changed then it isn’t the flag of St George!
“So I’m a little bit lost with that element of it.
“I think they can put a quirky design together but you can’t say it’s the flag of St George because it isn’t. It’s therefore something else.”