LET’S BEAT THE ODDS Sterling and Rashford to fight for spot
England are joint favourites to win Euros... but ‘we can’t be arrogant’ says Southgate
GARETH SOUTHGATE does not fear anyone at the Euros – but he is playing down England as bookies’ favourites to end 55 years of hurt.
The England boss is not going to talk down his young stars, especially with Europe’s top teams wary of the huge, youthful attacking firepower at Southgate’s disposal.
But the Three Lions chief insists he cannot be “arrogant” about the potential damage England can do in the delayed 2020 tournament this summer despite bookies making his squad joint favourites to win the trophy along with reigning World champions France.
Southgate admits England have not reached their peak yet and are still on their journey to full maturity as an international force.
Cautious
And although he believes they can build on their sparkling run to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia three years ago, he is taking a cautious approach to the prospects of England winning their first major crown since the 1966 World Cup.
“I’ll assume it’s a gambling company that has made us favourites,” laughed the England boss.
“Bookies never walk home from a race meeting. I learned that very early in my life.
“They’re not silly. They don’t want to lose money. People will pile on to England, they will adjust the odds – and that’s why we’re favourites.
“We’re one of a number of teams who, I think, are in the
frame. Have we peaked as a team? I don’t think we have.
“But can we say we’re ahead of Portugal, who’ve won a Nations League and a Euros. Or France, who are world champions?
“Or Belgium, who have been ranked No.1 for four years and only lost two or three games? We can’t be arrogant and say we’re ahead of those teams.
“We’re in that group – like Italy, Spain and Germany who are improving quickly – so it’s an incredibly strong field. We are capable
of beating any team on a given day. What we’ve got to do is put those games back-to-back to be able to succeed in this tournament.
“That’s the challenge for us.” Southgate knows his stars will have to deal with the pressure of being expected to win a Euros mostly based at Wembley apart from one or two knockout rounds.
But he sees England winning a first European Championship as a target young players like Mason Mount, Declan Rice, Jadon Sancho
and Jude Bellingham should embrace, not fear.
Southgate and the rest of Terry Venables’ squad lost in the semifinals of Euro 96 at Wembley – but he insists that shouldn’t be baggage his present-day side should carry.
Opportunity
“It’s an opportunity. We can be the first,” he said. “We’ve never got to a European Championship final. We’ve only been to one semi-final.
“These players don’t need to worry about 1996. Most of them weren’t born. God, that’s depressing.
“We can use some little things that happened along that way, but this is their moment, this
is their opportunity. For some it’s early in their careers, for some it’s got to happen soon.
“They have got to approach it with that freshness and excitement we had at Euro 96.
“We have a great opportunity to bring happiness and enjoyment to people. That’s one of the beauties of being involved with the national team and we’re desperate to try to do that.”
Bookies never walk home from a race meeting. They’re not silly, people will pile on England and they’ll change the odds to make us favourites...
ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate has warned his stars their reputations will count for nothing when it comes to picking his teams at the Euros.
Southgate insists no one is guaranteed a place – and he will not be afraid to drop big names if they are not firing on all cylinders.
And with Mason Greenwood and Harry Kane in electric scoring form at the end of the Premier League season, that is a wake-up call for Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling, who have both struggled for goals.
The Manchester duo only managed 15 goals between them – Sterling eight and Rashford seven – since the turn of the year.
Rashford drew another blank in United’s Europa League Final penalty shoot-out defeat by Spanish winners Villarreal and his form is sketchy.
Southgate (left) admits that is a worry – but he will not change the way he has operated since taking charge in 2016. “That’s how we have worked over a number of years. Of course, you have guys who have
regularly delivered and you give them opportunities, but it has to be a meritocracy,” said the England chief. “If you’ve got a team where the players know that those playing the best at the time aren’t in the team,
then they will question the decisions and fairness of that.
“So we always look at the team and who is playing well. There are, of course, some more experienced players – but all players have to be playing well to get in the team.
“Those are two guys who have consistently played well with England and we hope that we can see that through the summer.
“There is real competition and for all players in all positions there is an element of them having to deliver.
“And because we have got that competition for places we are able to refresh the team. We have the opportunity to do that to get through a tournament given the season the players have had.
“To have the strength we have on the bench as well is really critical. If you can’t do that then that’s more difficult for results as well. A player’s form or fitness with his club is outside our control until they arrive with us.
“So we have to get the best from the boys when they are with
us.”