Euro 2020: June 11-July 11
Cubs need 12th man: Southgate
England manager insists more to come from his young squad as they deal with pressures
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LONDON • Gareth Southgate has insisted England can overcome their growing pains as his young side aim to get their Euro 2020 campaign back on track by beating the Czech Republic today and finishing on top of Group D.
The Three Lions are level on four points with the Czechs, who are ahead on goal difference, and will be guaranteed first place if they win their final group match.
A draw will also see both teams advance regardless of the outcome of the other group fixture between Croatia and Scotland, who are both on one point.
A win at Wembley feels essential for England to lift the gloom that descended after they were booed off following Friday's lacklustre 0-0 draw with old rivals Scotland.
With an average age of 25 years and 31 days, their starting line-up against the Scots was the youngest they had ever fielded in a major tournament but the lack of experience was evident against Steve Clarke's men.
Southgate's side were marginally better in their 1-0 opening win over Croatia and should the hosts top the group, there are mounting concerns that a potential last-16 meeting with France, Germany or Portugal could prove too much to handle.
The former Middlesbrough boss acknowledged that it was a learning process for his squad as they come to terms with the unique pressures of tournament action.
"This is a relatively inexperienced group, the third least caps in the tournament," he said ahead of today's game. "Against Scotland, it was a young team so that's a different experience for a lot of them than they've ever faced before.
"They've just about survived it. We want to be better and that's what we're going to work through in the next few days before we play the Czech Republic."
While he hinted at changes for the Czech game in a bid to freshen up England's attack, with the likes of Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford possibly coming in, one player remains undroppable, Harry Kane.
The captain has yet to score or even manage a shot on target and, after being substituted early in both games, there have been calls from some critics to leave him out.
25
Years and 31 days, England players' average age against Scotland was the youngest fielded in a major tournament.
3
Patrik Schick has scored all three of the Czech Republic's goals at Euro 2020; the most at a major tournament since Milan Baros (five) in 2004.
But Southgate has confirmed Kane, the English Premier League Golden Boot winner with 23 goals last term, will start against Jaroslav Silhavy's men.
"You can assume that, yes, absolutely. He is fundamental not only for his goals but the build-up play and everything else he brings. He is our most important player, there is no doubt about that," he said.
Reports yesterday said Manchester City have made a bid of £100 million (S$187 million) to Tottenham for Kane.
Sky Sports reported that the Londoners are set to reject the offer, with chairman Daniel Levy holding out for at least £120 million.
On the possibility of Jadon Sancho being involved - the forward was not in the match-day squad for Croatia and did not get off the bench against Scotland despite scoring 16 goals in all competitions for Borussia Dortmund last season - Southgate gave no assurances.
"We've got some explosive options and a lot of them are young players and experiencing a big tournament for the first time," he said.
"Jadon is in that mix. He's trained well the last few days and of course we have got those options and those decisions to make."
Southgate is aware that the English fans are getting restless, but he called on them to be patient and urged them to be the 12th man that the team need.
"The important thing is that everyone gets behind the team and they're going to need to feel that support and to feel that warmth," he said. "We know there are some very good players in there, we know they can perform better than they did and we've got to help them to find that level."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
