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Gareth Southgate has warned his players that their indiscipline will cost them a chance at Euro 2020 glory after England sent off two men for the first time on Wednesday night.
Southgate’s men suffered a night of punishment, falling to their first loss in more than 12 months, courtesy of Christian Eriksen’s first-half penalty after a mix-up between Jordan Pickford and Kyle Walker.
But that was only part of the story, as Harry Maguire and Reece James made history by becoming the first two England players to be sent off during the same game.
Having gone six years without a sent-off, England have now had three in as many games after Kyle Walker received his marching orders against Iceland last month.
Southgate, who has been plagued by a number of high-profile off-the-field disciplinary issues involving a number of his players, said: ‘We haven’t had any in recent weeks with the seniors so that’s something we have to learn. .
“Of course there have been things off the field that have not been good. We have addressed them.
“The question of discipline is an obvious question that they are going to ask us because we have put ourselves in unnecessary positions off the field. We have to learn from that because historically 10 men in tournaments, you’re out. ‘
But Southgate jumped to Maguire’s defense after he got two cautions in 31 minutes to cap a miserable period since he received a trio of guilty verdicts for his role in a violent incident while on vacation in Mykonos.
When asked if he felt the Manchester United defender needed a break out of the game, Southgate said: ‘Knowing Harry as I do, he will want to play football.
“The best place for him is in the field. We know you’re happy that everyone has an opinion on what you should be doing. This is life as a top player. If nobody is interested in you, life is very simple.
“If you’re a United captain and a standout player for England, everyone has an opinion. You have to ride with that. It is strong enough to deal with it. It has to show the resilience that I know it has to overcome.
“ He’s going through a period where he gets a lot of sticks thrown at him, but he’s big enough to deal with it, he’ll get through it, he’ll be stronger for it.
You have our support and I am sure your club will do the same. You’re getting all kinds of things right now, from people who should know better. None of us like to be in the middle of that storm.
Chelsea defender James ruined an excellent performance by receiving a red card for dissent after the final whistle, the first England player to be sent off in his full debut.
And Southgate added: ‘The expulsion at the end, they told me it was because of a dissent, that’s something like a young player who has to admit that it is not acceptable.
“But I thought his individual performance was outstanding.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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