Football News: Southgate Confident in England’s Star Power for Euro 2024 Glory
Southgate Upbeat About England’s Individual Talent
Gareth Southgate believes England have the individual star quality to drive their hopes of Euro 2024 glory. The squad arrived in Germany on the back of the friendly defeat by Iceland at Wembley and plenty of concerns, particularly with regard to fitness – some of which endure.
“Not every player can star in every game,” Southgate said, as he turned his attentions towards the match against Denmark on Thursday. “What’s important is that different people pop up with the moments like Jude did. When I go through the history of our big games, there’s always been a different match-winner, a different guy to take the headlines and that’s as it will be if we are going to win a tournament.”
Defensive Solidity a Key Focus
If the performance against Serbia came to look leggy and disjointed, Southgate and the players took heart from the clean sheet. England kept five of them in seven ties at the previous European Championship, when they were the beaten finalists, and three in five matches at the 2022 World Cup, when they reached the quarter-finals.
“If you keep clean sheets in tournaments you have a very good chance of going on and winning it,” Kyle Walker said. “That’s in anything. In the Premier League season, the Champions League season … you have a good foundation at the back and then you’ve got a good chance because the attacking threat that we’ve got up front, we should go and score goals.”
Fitness Concerns Linger
Southgate has not hidden his worries about the fitness of some of his players who have only recently returned from injury. Kieran Trippier, Marc Guéhi, John Stones, and Harry Kane all had limited playing time before the tournament, but Southgate is confident they can overcome these challenges.
“We are dealing with the cards we have been handed and trying to find the best way with that. So I’m really pleased that given the circumstance, we’ve managed to show the resilience we did in the second half,” Southgate said.
He also praised Kane for his second-half performance, noting his ability to hold the ball and win fouls, which was crucial in relieving pressure from the team.
🔗 Source