Gareth Southgate believes England will be stronger whenever international football resumes because key players such as Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford should be fully fit again, though he still worries the disruption to the Premier League season might have a negative impact on young players awaiting their first-team chance.
“Premier League football might be back this week but the academies are still closed,” the England manager said. “If there is one area where Covid‑19 might have set a few players back that would be it.
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“If Kane and Rashford had missed games with their clubs, as they were about to before the suspension, Tottenham and Manchester United might have had to promote a few young players in their place. You tend to see that normally towards the end of the season and because it hasn’t happened this time there may be a couple of 17- or 18-year-olds who might have missed their moment. Because the academies are not back yet, these lads will end up going four or five months without playing and that’s like being out with a serious injury.”
Euro 2020 should have been kicking off this weekend and without any prospect of international football on the horizon there is nothing this summer for fringe players such as Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood to aim at once the season resumes. Southgate considers Foden an almost unique talent in the English game – “He plays in an advanced midfield role and his attributes are rare in this country” – but at the moment he is seeing more of Jadon Sancho because the Borussia Dortmund player is not only in a league that has resumed but at a club where he plays regularly.
“Jadon is still very young, he’s not going to get every decision right,” Southgate said of the midfielder’s visit from a barber, for which he was fined. “I don’t think there’s quite the depth in the Bundesliga that there is in the Premier League, but he is playing regularly for one of the top teams, a side that is expected to perform at a high level.
We spend a lot of time discussing potential. For Phil Foden, or any young prospect, the bottom line is he has to playGareth Southgate
“The key for Phil Foden is whether he can make that happen at Manchester City. We spend a lot of time discussing potential but the bottom line for any young prospect is that he has to play. If Foden can break into the City side he will be playing at a very high level and then I am sure he will soon find himself in the England squad.”
When not keeping his eye on German football, Southgate has been enjoying some of the vintage England games being shown again on television during lockdown, even going as far back as the 1966 World Cup final. “What struck me about that was the reaction of the crowd when England passed back to the goalkeeper with 10 minutes to go,” he said. “They were 2-1 up but everyone started booing, they wanted a third. I sometimes think that as a nation we might not be cynical enough for sustained international success.”
View image in fullscreenMason Greenwood after scoring for Manchester United against Lask in the Europa League last 16 in March. Southgate worries players such as him are missing out. Photograph: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
In terms of more recent tournaments, Southgate is prepared to admit the boys of ’90 and ’96 were a little further down the development track than the present national squad. “It’s very odd watching those games back, you know when the mistakes are coming,” he said. “But compared to the young squad we have at the moment the England sides that last reached semi-finals were much more experienced.
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“There was far more experience of international and club football in those teams than the one that reached the World Cup semi-final in 2018. Those teams were a little further advanced at the time of their tournaments, but our players are coming on quickly.
“Just looking back to 2018, Harry Maguire was still taking baby steps into international football, now he’s the captain of Manchester United.
“The last few days have also shown that we have a generation of players who know their platform and are not afraid to speak out. They have a voice, and they know their messages carry weight. There’s power in that, as we have recently seen.”
Southgate is referring to statements made in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, mostly from black, Asian and minority ethnic players, though he feels the game as a whole could do more to press for change. “It’s understandable these guys are asked first for their opinions but marches and protests are always more powerful if there is a mix of people involved, it shouldn’t just fall on our black people to change things,” he said. “Non-black players shouldn’t duck the issue, even though it can be uncomfortable trying to defend things that are basically indefensible.”
Southgate was particularly distressed to hear Jermain Defoe question whether it was worth taking coaching qualifications in the light of the limited opportunities for black coaches or managers, and is frustrated by the unfairness and the waste of talent and experience. “Jermain was brilliant with us, we need people like him just as we also need people like Fabian Delph, Ashley Cole and Danny Rose,” he said.
“Removing that ceiling on achievement for ethnic minority groups is one of the biggest challenges we face and if we can’t do it then we are not living in a country we can be proud of. The challenge is to make a difference right across society, not just in football, but football is something we can try to alter.”
