Gareth Southgate says the time has come for England to ‘go for it’ as they prepare to face Slovakia in the Euro 2024 knockout stages.
The England boss has been underfire in some sections of the media and among fans for England’s below-par showing in what was deemed a routine group, scoring only two goals and drawing two of their three games against Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia.
Setting off for the last 16! 🔜 pic.twitter.com/6utvYcuV3x
— England (@England) June 29, 2024
Southgate told a media conference ahead of Sunday’s Round of 16 tie with Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen that knockout football is different from a group phase and that he was excited to see his team showcase that.
“You have to get through that first phase and there are moments within that where if you keep pushing you can lose the game,” he said.
“Now we are in the world where it has to happen on the day, you have to go for it. We have been here before.
“We have to be right on our game with and without the ball. Some parts of our game we need to better but I have seen lots of signs that it is starting to come. I am excited about the game.”
Southgate warned England followers not to get carried away with their criticism of the national team, and revealed he tries to keep the criticism from reaching the squad.
He said: “A team is never quite as poor as people might think, and not quite as good as people think.
“You are 5% off where you’d like to be so you have to careful not to throw everything out of the window and lose continuity and confidence.
“These players have great experience of knockout matches, the senior players have shown leadership and passing on that experience. As a group they are mixing, bonding, understand each other better. That’s part of forming a team.”
Southgate is wary of the threat posed by Slovakia, who finished third in Group E behind Romania and Belgium, albeit finishing level on points.
“We know it’s a tough opponent and we have to…
Source link : https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/euro-2024-time-for-england-to-go-for-it-southgate/
Author : Alex Hoad
Publish date : 2024-06-29 18:50:48
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