England manager Gareth Southgate hinted that he will look to add experience to his starting line-up to face Czech Republic in their final Euro 2020 group game, after fielding the country’s youngest ever side at a major tournament in the goalless draw with Scotland.
A victory would have secured England’s progression to the last 16 of the tournament, but the surprise draw at Wembley means they must avoid defeat against the Czechs to ensure they go through.
Southgate had already taken England’s youngest squad to a major tournament since 1958. Against Scotland, he left out five of his oldest available players, meaning the average age of his starting XI was 25 years and 31 days.
Reece James, 21, started at right-back, replacing 31-year-old Kyle Walker. Phil Foden, only 21, started his second game of the tournament. Mason Mount, 22, played behind Harry Kane, and further behind him was 22-year-old Declan Rice.
Kieran Trippier, 30, was also moved to the bench after starting England’s first match, a confident, controlled win against Croatia that was almost the polar opposite of the Scotland performance.
And after the team appeared nervous and slow in the first half and Scotland were arguably the more deserving of the three points, if either side had won it, Southgate will consider including some more experienced heads in his team for the final group game.
“I know exactly where this team is – it’s a young team and some of them won’t have experienced a night under this intensity and pressure,” England’s manager said.
“That’s a huge learning curve for then. That’s what we have to look at moving forward.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/35CzqVP
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