England have a huge game against Italy coming up which could decide their fate for their Euros 2024 tournament. Before that though, they have a friendly tonight against Australia in which Southgate is hoping to experiment with his squad.
Jarrod Bowen, Eddie Nketiah, Levi Cowill and Ollie Watkins are upon many who will be desperate to get minutes in this England squad. They’ll want to try and impress Southgate knowing a place in the Euro 2024 tournament isn’t far from being confirmed.
“We want to see as many of the squad as we can this week,” said Southgate. There is a reality with England that you have to take your chances when they come.
“As a former player, you knew the moments when you felt, ‘OK, I have got to deliver tonight. I am not going to get six or 10 chances.’ It is not how it works.
“Our job is to try and alleviate pressure from the team but you have to deliver with England and we have to win matches, so we have got to be good at handling and coping with pressure. These boys are more than capable.
“There is no question in my mind. They are fighting against good players and they are younger and less experienced than some of the others.
“Colwill and Nketiah, for example, we would not have picked them if we did not think they could not be part of England’s future. They have got to take it step by step and try to go out and give the best version of themselves.”
Southgate understands the rivalry that England and Australia possess and he recalls the time where they last beat us back in 2003 at Upton Park:
“We’ve talked to the players about the England-Australia sporting rivalry,” he said. “I played with a lot of Aussies and when they beat us at Upton Park, they were pretty quick to come back to Middlesbrough (where Southgate was playing at the time) and [Mark] Schwarzer had a blow-up kangeroo under his arm and he was making hay with it all. There’s plenty of rivalry going on.”
Both sets of players will wear black armbands and there will be a minutes silence held before kick off to remember the victims of the tragic recent events in Israel and Palestine.
There were talks over illuminating the Wembley arch in Israeli colours but in a meeting of FA officials, it was decided the move could be divisive and be seen as taking sides in the Middle East conflict.
Southgate was asked for his thoughts on the matter and he responded: “My first thoughts are extreme sadness for anybody who has lost loved ones in the attacks that have happened. In my lifetime, the Middle East has been probably the most complex and difficult situation to fully understand [and] be able to comment upon with any sense of authority.
‘So the FA will have wanted to consult as many people as it could, try and get the right position and they will have wanted to remain inclusive.
“I have friends in the Jewish community and the Muslim community. It is impossible for me to fully understand what it is like for people in either of those communities. I have not walked in their shoes. The FA will have tried to do the right thing,”
Here’s our preview ahead of tonight’s game > England vs Australia Predictions, Tips, Bet Builder, Odds & Preview (sportslens.com)
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