Gareth Southgate has revealed that four or five of the young players he gave international debuts to over the last two friendly games are now options for the World Cup squad next year in Russia.
The England boss introduced Jordan Pickford, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Joe Gomez and Harry Maguire to the global stage and all of them impressed during the games against Germany and Brazil. There were also first caps for Tammy Abraham, Dominic Solanke and Jack Cork.
(more…)
Arsenal legend-turned-pundit Ian Wright believes Marcus Rashford has the potential to turn out to be a world-class performer for both club and country.
Speaking on ITV, he said: “He’s driven. What he said there, Premier League, Champions League and World Cup. Some people might laugh and scoff at that but when you look at him and look at his dedication and drive, you wouldn’t put that past him. People will say ‘yeah, he’s not going to do it with England’ but if everybody can start having that same drive and vision, anything could happen. It’s great to see.”
Rashford have moved a long way since his debut against Midtjylland in the Europa League in February 2016, and he is now considered as a regular for both club and country. Rashford has already won four titles with the United first-team, and Wright feels that the attacker should feature in a more central role due to his precise movement which often leaves defenders behind, he added: “I would love to see him have a berth right up the centre. His pace, his movement, he’s got I think some of the best movement in the players we’ve got.” (more…)
Watford manager Marco Silva admits that the pressure is off English striker Andre Gray, who arrived from Burnley on a club-record £18m fee.
Gray, who scored nine league goals for Sean Dyche’s Burnley last term, is the Hornets’ seventh signing of the transfer window, and Silva is adamant that there is no added pressure on the striker due to his price tag.
He said: “It’s not the most important for me and it’s not the most important for the player. I want him to play here with normal pressures and not because of the price but because he’s come to Watford to work hard and win his position. I know he’s a player who wanted to come to Watford, which is important as well. He wants to improve in his career and fight for his position in the team and to improve our squad.” (more…)
France hosted and then defeated England in an international friendly game on Tuesday.
Skipper Harry Kane started the night on a brilliant note when he scored a Ryan Bertrand cross in the first ten minutes. The goal forced the French team to go into attack mode. England national team boss Gareth Southgate had experimented with rave of the moment three man defence which suffered in the hands of the quick French attack.
Tom Heaton and Jack Butland played 45 minutes each. The Burnley keeper denied Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele but Samuel Umtiti and DjibrilSidibe got the rebounds that sent France into the lead before the break. The Barcelona defender scored in the 22nd minute while Sidibe added his 21 minutes later.
The video assistant referee was employed in the game when minutes after the break Varane fouled Dele Alli. The referee awarded a penalty which Kane converted for his second of the night.
France kept on with the attacks as the trio of Manchester United star Paul Pogba, Monaco teenage sensation KylianMbappe and Barcelona interest Dembele made England sweat. Twelve minutes from the end of regular play Mbappe and Dembele combined to get the third goal for France. (more…)
Red Devils and Three Lions skipper Wayne Rooney is expected to miss upcoming England game against Scotland and France, Sky Sports claims.
England men’s senior team manager Gareth South is expected to release the list of players that would prosecute the games soonest. England are to play Scotland on June 10 before a friendly against their ally France in Paris three days after the Glasgow fixture.
The Man United star missed the games against Germany and Lithuania in March as Southgate preferred other stars. If the record goalscorer for England misses the games, he might not get another chance this year. There would be calls that he play in Russia if England qualifies for the 2018 World Cup but that would only be a poor end to his illustrious career. (more…)
England midfielder Ross Barkley has told his club Everton FC that he wants to play in the Champions League.
There have been reports that Man United and Chelsea want the native star in their lineup. The Toffees boss Ronald Koeman revealed that Barkley has issues with the current ambitions of his boyhood club.
“I spoke to Ross several weeks ago and he mentioned his ambition, Champions League, and I told him I have the same ambition,”Koeman said.
The Merseyside manager tried convincing the player that the club was on that same path. He said Barkley was a key player and a home grown talent of the club. (more…)
Harry Kane has told ESPN FC that his “unbelievable” Tottenham Hotspur teammate Dele Alli can go on to become one of the best players to have ever graced the football pitch.
His goal scoring has earned him comparisons with Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes but he has reached 20 Premier League goals in fewer games than all three, and Kane believes Alli is “his own player.”
“He’s got so many great attributes, he scores goals, he assists goals, he’s got great skills. He’s his own player. He’s got amazing potential,” Kane told ESPN FC at a Lucozade sport event yesterday. (more…)
Gareth Southgate has once again opened up on the touchy subject of wealth in the game.
One of the countries to have been affected by the lack of talent is England. In recent years, this has changed with the current England team possessing some the finest in talent in world football. However, it has not exactly translated into success on the pitch. Southgate is the third manager to lead the England national team in the last two years. (more…)
Former England striker Chris Sutton recently criticised the England FA for subjecting interim manager Gareth Southgate to a three-hour interview for the England job.
After having successfully negotiated this games with two wins and two draws, Sutton believes that Southgate should not be subjected to interviews as he has already been in the job for long enough. The former Middlesbrough manager is also the only candidate at the moment.
There have even been discussions for the possibility of a foreign manager taking over for the first time since Fabio Capello four years ago. However, not many have expressed their interest in the England job, as it is seen as a tough exercise that involves a lot of rebuilding. Southgate is widely considered as the favourite to become the next England boss and he would be expected to get the same £ 6 million contract given to Sam Allardyce.
“Personally, I don’t think it is overcomplicating it.Why make this meeting public? Why couldn’t they have had this meeting behind closed doors and then announced Gareth as manager?It’s a little bit undermining, a bit of a slap across the face,” said Sutton. “I understand why there’s the debate about why you need a formal process. It makes perfect sense if you’ve had an interim manager to have three or four days pass and then come back and review it with a clear head,” said former FA executive Adrian Bevington.
The England internationals of the past and the present, have come down hard on Sam Allardyce for making himself and the country a subject to jokes everywhere by falling in the trap of a media house.
In shearer’s words, “How can a man, who by his own admission had had his dream come true when he was placed at the helm of the national team, be so absent minded while holding that position? He should never have agreed for any such meeting.”
“You can’t help losing your temper because you feel, as an Englishman, that he has let you down. There was such a lot of hope with him coming to the job and he lasted like that, disgraceful on his part and gutting for us.”
“I would have struggled to imagine anything worse than Euros, but, now I would say this is the worst thing to have ever happened in the Three Lions history and we will be reflecting on it first whenever we talk about the lows of our Football.” (more…)