Gareth Southgate insists there is ‘more to come’ from England despite his side topping group following Czech Republic win… as Three Lions boss sends out warning to potential last-16 contenders France, Germany and Portugal
- England sealed top spot in their Euro 2020 group with a win over Czech Republic
- The Three Lions have won two, drawn one and let in none at Euro 2020 so far
- Gareth Southgate insists England are capable of hitting another higher level
- The 50-year-old says his side do lack fluency at times but ‘look a good side’
Gareth Southgate has warned Europe’s superpowers that England are ready to hit top gear after securing top spot in Group D.
Raheem Sterling’s winner against the Czechs has set up a daunting last-16 tie against either heavyweights France, Germany or Portugal, although the game will be played at Wembley thanks to last night’s win.
But England boss Southgate believes his team can go up a level ahead of next Tuesday’s clash.
Gareth Southgate says there is more to come from this England side after they topped Group D
The Three Lions beat Czech Republic 1-0 to end their Group D bid with two wins and a draw
The 50-year-old said: ‘There is more to come from us, definitely. We are not fluent but we have moments where we look a good side.
‘Who knows whether that is going to be a good draw or not but we wanted to win the group, we wanted to stay at Wembley and we will wait and see who we play.
‘World champions (France) Euro champions (Portugal) and Germany – who look back on song – will be tough opponents but we’ve known that for 18 months. But we look difficult to beat.’
England’s plans for the game were thrown into turmoil after Mason Mount – who was due to start the game – and Ben Chilwell were forced to self-isolate after coming into close contact with Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour, who has tested positive for Covid.
Southgate (right) enjoyed the way his players started Tuesday night’s match at Wembley
‘I thought we started really well, we were stable with the ball, we had worked on some of the stuff in training and credit to the players some things we had to adjust without the ball today we changed what we were doing overnight because of the different personnel so it is a huge credit to the players that they were as stable without the ball as they were,’ said Southgate.
‘I thought there were a lot of positives in the performance both individual and collectively. It was one of those nights where we said to the players there was a bit more freedom because the consequence of a draw or a loss wasn’t fatal, so hopefully a bit less pressure for them to play which is rare in a tournament.
‘I think what they’re showing is adaptability and resilience. We’ve had to make so many changes and known that players right from the start weren’t available.
‘We have hit the woodwork in all three matches and the other thing we have to get better on is our attacking set-play which is normally such a good source of goals for us and our deliveries have been really poor.’