SM
Watford vs. Oxford Utd: 6 hrs 7 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data

Gareth Southgate desperate to avoid more injuries ahead of Croatia opener

:Headline: Gareth Southgate desperate to avoid more injuries ahead of Croatia opener:
Gareth Southgate has a clear idea of how England will line up against Croatia.
Sports Mole

Gareth Southgate already has a clear idea of England’s starting line-up against Croatia as the squad head to St George’s Park and step up preparations for Sunday’s Euro 2020 opener.

After the coronavirus outbreak delayed the tournament by a year, anticipation is building ahead of the Group D clash against the team who ended the Three Lions’ 2018 World Cup hopes at the semi-final stage.

England will intensify preparations at St George’s Park from Tuesday after a camp in the north-east disrupted by injury concerns and European final absentees at the end of a challenging season.

Those complications were highlighted by the scratch sides that just had enough to beat Austria 1-0 on Wednesday and Romania by the same scoreline on Sunday.

While the performances and personnel raised more questions than answers for many, Southgate has a clear idea how he wants his side to line up against Croatia under the arch.

Asked if he knows what he would like his starting line-up for Sunday’s match to be, the England boss told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Yeah, we could (name them now).

“There’s probably one decision in my head. But, yeah, look, we’ve got another week to get through.

“Every time over the last three months I’ve pieced a squad together or a team, that’s changed rapidly and, you know, painfully with injuries.

“So, let’s hope we can get through to next Sunday without losing any more players.”

“Let’s hope we can get through to next Sunday without losing any more players”
- Gareth Southgate

Already without the likes of Joe Gomez and Nick Pope, much-discussed right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold’s thigh injury against Austria led Ben White to be promoted to England’s 26-man squad on Monday.

The news was confirmed early in a day that saw players and staff allowed home to spend time with loved ones ahead of convening at St George’s Park on Tuesday and fine-tuning for Croatia.

“We are constantly talking as a coaching staff, constantly looking at the players and looking at the opponent,” Southgate said ahead of the squad’s entering the Euros bubble.

“Because the best team for the game with Croatia may not be the best team for the game with Scotland. We have to make sure we get those calls right.

“Of course myself and Steve (Holland) have monitored these players so closely for 12 months so, although we learn from these games, there are also things in those matches that we have seen over a longer period of time. So we are not surprised by things. These matches confirm things for us.

England manager Gareth Southgate (right) and assistant Steve Holland monitor their players closely (PA)

“I go away and of course have my individual thoughts but all of my coaches are the same and we come together and discuss those things and thrash them around and test the robustness of any decisions we are deciding on.

“But of course we have another week’s training to get through as well.

“Every time I have ever written a team down on a scrap of paper over the last 12 months I have had to get the pencil with the rubber out and changed it because we have lost people, so I am loath to pen it in ink, if you like, tonight.

“Hopefully we can avoid any injury or illness issues in the next few days.”

England vice-captain Jordan Henderson played on Sunday but remains short of match fitness and Harry Maguire is dealing with an ankle injury, while Bukayo Saka is currently out with a minor issue.

Southgate said his staff are “pretty clear” on who will be available to face Croatia, with the Three Lions boss focused on maximising the little training time they have together in Burton.

Manchester United’s Harry Maguire remains a fitness concern (Michael Steele/PA)

Defensive organisation is sure to be high on the former England centre-back’s list of priorities after Romania were able to create chances against his much-changed side.

“I didn’t like us without the ball in the first half but that was the whole team,” Southgate said. “That started from the front.

“We weren’t disciplined in the way we defended. Our recovery runs were not good enough.

“It meant that the midfield was stretched, the back players had too many decisions to make. They were having to come into spaces where they shouldn’t have needed to be. Without doubt we can improve on that.

“I have also got to allow the team that played the reality that we had made a lot of changes and had to preserve some players and give others minutes that they needed.

“There is a lot of work to be done on the training ground as, without a doubt, we cannot give up the number of chances we did and not expect to be punished.”

body check tags ::

amp_article__450585 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-06-08 06:00:16:
html db last update - 2021-06-08 06:00:16 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about Gareth Southgate

Click here for more stories about Croatia

Share this article now:


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Read more about Gareth Southgate Jack Grealish Trent Alexander-Arnold Nick Pope Joe Gomez Bukayo Saka Harry Maguire Football
Follow @SportsMole for the latest breaking news stories, and follow @sm_headlines to get every headline from Sports Mole
Recommended Next on SM
Major transfer boost: Man United 'given encouragement' in pursuit of Gyokeres
Will Chelsea or Arsenal win five-goal spectacular? Premier League GW11 predictions
"He was very good": Maresca comments on George Chelsea debut in Noah demolition

Page options

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Preview: Chelsea vs. Arsenal - prediction, team news, lineups

1

PC

Will Palmer return? Chelsea injury, suspension list vs. Arsenal

2

WP

Preview: Le Havre vs. Reims - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

3

PL

Preview: Man Utd vs. Leicester - prediction, team news, lineups

4

PM

Eleven changes, will Palmer be one of them? Chelsea predicted XI against Arsenal

5

EC

Preview: Spurs vs. Ipswich - prediction, team news, lineups

6

PS

Rice question answered, will Odegaard start? Arsenal predicted XI against Chelsea

7

RQ

Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Head-to-head record and past meetings

8

CV

Felix, Nkunku net brace as Chelsea run rampant in demolition of FC Noah

9

FN

Preview: Crystal Palace vs. Fulham - prediction, team news, lineups

10

PC


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .