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Gareth Southgate has said that England’s young players have not proved anything yet and warned them not to risk damaging their team’s reputation after Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho were ruled out of the friendly against Wales on Thursday for the night after his breach of Covid-19 rules last weekend. .
England’s last two fields have been affected by indiscipline and Southgate made it clear that the “circus” caused by off-field problems can put unnecessary pressure on the team. Abraham, Chilwell and Sancho have apologized for their behavior. Your participation in the Nations League tie against Belgium on Sunday depends on the result of the coronavirus tests.
Southgate said his veteran players have worked hard to rebuild a connection with the fans after Iceland’s humiliating defeat at Euro 2016 and he wants to avoid further distractions. The September camp was dominated by the England coach who dropped Harry Maguire after the defender’s criminal trial in Greece following allegations of a violent altercation with the police and then sent Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood home for violations of Covid. Foden and Greenwood, who are not on this team, had invited two women to the team’s hotel in Iceland.
“We have to recognize that things like this affect the team,” Southgate said. “They affect the energy. They take time to deal with them and that time would be better spent being able to focus on preparing for training, having training conversations with the players.
“You want an environment with the players where the pressure on the team is not greater than it already is by having this circus going around. We have done it very well. The players who have been with us for a long time deserve great recognition for this.
“We go back to Iceland and some members of this week’s team were involved and they had to go through a lot of difficulties to get to a point where the team was respected and they got results that haven’t been achieved in 20 or 30 years. and we are not prepared to let that go away.
“The younger players coming in need to realize that they are in a position where they can feel comfortable with this group. That’s important, as you want them to feel free to play and can settle into the group, but they need to realize that they haven’t done anything yet. They haven’t done anything with us and they have everything to prove. We have to strike that balance. “
The coach said England benefited from a calm atmosphere at camp when they reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals. “If we have the kind of things that we have had in the last two camps, then we give it a chance to write those kinds of stories, so we have to try to give ourselves the best chance to act and stay calm. going to Russia, I think it gave us a better platform to act on. “
Southgate, who has less than a year to prepare for the delayed European Championship, will host Wales at Wembley without several of their most exciting young players. But while Greenwood and Foden were punished last month, Abraham, Chilwell and Sancho could return for the glamorous tie with Belgium and the Nations League game against Denmark next Wednesday.
The trio broke the government’s “rule of six” guidelines after attending a surprise birthday party for Abraham in London last Saturday and were forced to delay their arrival with the team to avoid the risk of infection within the group.
“I’m not sure that punishment is always the correct phrase because it suggests that we are making a moral decision about what happened,” Southgate said. “One of the difficulties that these types of situations create is that you are in a moral labyrinth.
“As for a few days off, I’m not sure that’s what those players wanted. They are missing the opportunity to play for England. It is possible that depending on the evaluation of the symptoms or the tests, if they do not return to us before Friday, and it is difficult to measure those deadlines, they will also miss the game on Sunday. That affects the team and it really affects them ”.
Southgate will play an inexperienced team against Wales and admitted that Jordan Pickford’s form for Everton is a concern. Burnley’s Nick Pope is set to start against Wales, while Manchester United’s Dean Henderson is knocking on the door. “We know Jordan has made mistakes,” Southgate said. “Nick really made mistakes over the weekend. I always come back to the fact that Jordan’s performances for us have been excellent. I’m no stranger to his performance at Everton, but there can be a lot of factors within the performances of individuals at their clubs. “
Southgate said England benefited from a calm atmosphere at camp when they reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals. “If we have the kind of things that we’ve had in the last two camps, then we give them a chance to write that kind of stories, so we have to try to give ourselves the best chance to act and stay calm. going to Russia, I think it gave us a better platform to act on. “
England (probable): Pope; Walker, Coady, Keane; Trippier, Phillips, Winks, Saka; Barnes, Calvert-Lewin, Grealish.
