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Gareth Southgate says he is concerned about the condition his England players will be in at the European Championship next summer as he spoke about how the power of the Premier League could affect his prospects for success.
The England manager will see his team in March, when they will play their first three qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, the draw of which took place on Monday. England have been put in a group with Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra and San Marino and the order of the matches will be announced on Tuesday.
It is very unusual to play the World Cup qualifiers before a European summer tournament, but this is an unusual season in terms of the congested and modified schedule. Southgate, who will appoint his Euro squad in the weeks after the first World Cup qualifiers, says he shares the concerns of the Premier League’s top coaches, including Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp. They have been frustrated by the demands of the players and how the league has yet to allow the use of five substitutes in games.
“Jürgen will be like me, looking at what March looks like: When teams are at the end of the Champions League, teams go for the league title,” Southgate said. “What we have tried to affect is that we have pushed UEFA for five substitutes in the Nations League, which I think was a good decision. I know there is talk that the FA Cup is going in that direction. They are the bits that as FA we can control.
“I think Jürgen would be frustrated because in Germany the DFB and the Bundesliga work so closely on these things. We don’t have that power in Premier League matches or substitutions. I think from the point of view of the national team, a compact season like this, it’s always a concern what you’re going to achieve in the end. “
Southgate was asked if he would like to unite the Premier League clubs behind the national team cause. “It’s a beautiful idea, but I have to live in a pragmatic world and a world of reality,” he said. “I totally understand that we have the most intense competition at the top of our league and some very successful coaches who are highly motivated.
“Our league is very different. It is one of the additional situations you have to deal with as England manager. It is always important to have civil relations with clubs and respectful relationships. But the reality is that our goals are always slightly different. It’s not that easy to put a multinational group of coaches on the same page about England’s victory.
“International football is strong, just like the Champions League and the Premier League. So there is a different political situation there that we do our best to try to navigate, but it makes life more difficult for us. I think Arsène Wenger said over the years that it is very difficult to have a successful national team and the strongest league. We are trying to do that. And I’ll keep trying to do that. “
If this is a season like no other, then the Premier League title race is shaping up to be unusually open, with a host of clubs, with a number of England players emerging as challengers. Southgate believes it can benefit him in his most immediate goal: fighting for glory in the final of the European Championship next summer.
“We always want our players to participate in the big games. And when you look at the teams that have historically won international tournaments, they have a lot of players who have won European trophies or league titles.
“The best way to judge people is against opponents who are at the highest level possible so you can see everything about whether they can cope, how they cope under pressure. It is a much easier guide to how they would be with England. I think it’s a fascinating league season. “
The glamorous ties of the World Cup qualifying campaign will pit England against Poland and their prolific forward Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 63 goals in 116 international matches. They will also spark memories of how Poland prevented England from qualifying for the 1974 World Cup, beating it at Chorow and then leading it to a draw at Wembley, inspired by their goalkeeper, Jan Tomaszewski.
The defeat in Chorow represents Poland’s only victory against England.
Hungary, meanwhile, last beat England in 1962. England’s combined record against Albania, Andorra and San Marino is: 14 P14 G14.
“Inevitably, it will be about what we do,” Southgate said. “We are confident in who we are as a team and in the progress we are making, so the opposition is the opposition. First of all, with the qualifiers for the World Cup, you have to win; the goal is to get to Qatar, that’s where the honey is. If you can play well and score goals and have fun, great. But first we have to win the games.
“It is unusual to play World Cup qualifiers before a European Championship and it means that you are involved in a couple of competitions. But frankly, I wish we were still involved in three. It still bothers me that we are not in the semi-finals of the Nations League. Being in more than one competition is not a drama. “
Wales has been selected in a group with Belgium, the Czech Republic, Belarus and Estonia, while Scotland has Denmark, Austria, Israel, Moldova and the Faroe Islands. Northern Ireland faces Italy, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Lithuania, while the Republic of Ireland has Portugal, Serbia, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan.
Matchday 1: March 24-25, 2021
Matchday 2: March 27-28, 2021
Matchday 3: March 30–31, 2021
Fast guide
Qualification draw for the 2022 UEFA World Cup of nations
Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan
B Group: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo
Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania
Group D: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan
Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia
Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Group G: Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar
Group H: Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta
Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino
Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein
