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GRAMareth Southgate admits that he questioned himself. Which foot does Mason Greenwood, one of the new recruits to your England team, prefer to wear? “I feel a bit embarrassed,” said the England manager with a smile. “You have chosen a player for England and you are not sure which foot to kick the ball with.”
For the record, Greenwood says he almost favors the left, although his comfort with the right is part of what makes the Manchester United forward such a special talent. “The way he has this icy stare and a very calm disposition overall … I think it’s clear when he’s in and around the penalty area and for someone his age, that’s remarkable maturity,” Southgate added.
What has stood out for the manager since he rallied his team for Saturday’s Nations League tie against Iceland in Reykjavik and Tuesday against Denmark in Copenhagen has been Greenwood’s exuberance or, to put it another way, the excitement. What it feels like to be in the England team for the first time.
It’s not just Greenwood, but all the new guys: Phil Foden, Conor Coady, Kalvin Phillips, Jack Grealish, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. “It’s been wonderful to see the reaction to the new calls, just the joy,” said Southgate. “It takes you back to why you started playing this sport and sometimes we can forget it. Playing an international sport for your country is the pinnacle and it has been a beautiful reminder this week with those players. “
Southgate made no secret of how good it felt to be back, doing what he’s supposed to do one more time. The last time he was with his players was in November for the 4-0 victory over Kosovo in Pristina. That rounded out a free goal qualification for the European Championship – no team scored more than England’s 37 goals in eight heats, not even the countries that played 10 games, and there was excitement for the final before the coronavirus changed everything.
The selection of the Southgate team for Iceland and Denmark was the most difficult he had ever known and not just because of the Harry Maguire episode. The main problem has been that their players have been in different stages of their preseason, with different levels of fitness, and the virus has wreaked havoc on logistics.
Southgate said he had only returned to his office two weeks ago, regardless of training ground, because the Football Association headquarters had been closed. “Just getting out of the house and getting used to walking around with masks and all the restraints has felt strange,” he said.
But the manager also noted that since his players reported, it has been easier, with youthful energy mixing with older hunger to create an optimistic feeling.
Iceland doesn’t have six key players, including their Premier League men Gylfi Sigurdsson and Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who were unavailable, so England are a huge favorite to sweep them aside, which plays well against these opponents.
More generally, Southgate tried to send the right message about the next step for him and the team, about the goals for this more eventful international season that will end with the Euro. He knows that for senior players it’s about winning tournaments. The semifinals of the last World Cup were a great achievement, but reading between the lines, Southgate accepts that they must now go further. “We always have to measure what our internal goals are and how bold we are going publicly, and there is a balance between not putting pressure on the team, but accepting that there are expectations in the team,” he said. “We’ve been on a hot streak for two or three years and getting to where we did before will not be met with as much praise as in the past. The team has to acknowledge that, but they are hungry for it. “
Iceland will always be synonymous with one of England’s most gruesome results: a 2-1 outing of the round of 16 at Euro 2016 that ushered Sam Allardyce and then, in indecent haste, Southgate. The difference between that night in Nice and now is huge.
“The biggest thing about the Iceland game was patience once you fell behind,” Southgate said. “Very often you prepare the team for 0-0 and we don’t like to talk about what happens if you go behind. But in any game the opponent can score out of nowhere. So it’s making decisions under pressure, patience, that’s something we’ve really added.
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“The players know that if we are ever behind, we will continue to do things the way we do, we remain calm, we make the right decisions about when to take shots or when to enter better areas. We definitely use the Iceland game as one of the few to learn from.
Southgate, who is expected to stick with four defenses against Iceland before attempting three defenses in Denmark, spoke about the “different levels of confidence” in the setup now, how “one of the most important signals” for the change in attitude was “the way the guys have been desperate to be here this week.”
Today the England jersey has a lighter feel. Southgate must pick up where it left off in Kosovo.
