England boss Gareth Southgate reacts to England's shock 1-0 defeat at a pre-Euro's friendly with Iceland
07/06/2024
Wembley Stadium, London, UK
07/06/2024
Wembley Stadium, London, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00Everyone, just a reminder to use the microphone available, and raise your hand if you have
00:20a question.
00:23Let's go first.
00:27No beating around the bush, that's probably not how you wanted it to go tonight?
00:32No, no, absolutely.
00:35You'd like a good performance, a crowd that's been entertained, and to be leaving on a high.
00:44Clearly, the performance wasn't at the level it needed to be.
00:49So, I think there are some very clear reasons for that, and it actually gives us a chance to really focus the mind,
00:58because these last games going into tournaments can be a little bit scrappy like that,
01:06in terms of focus, because players are worried about picking up an injury.
01:13The most disappointing part tonight was out of possession, we didn't press well, we were too stretched.
01:21And we've actually, in the last two or three games in particular, been excellent at that.
01:26So, that's the bit that we've really got to rectify.
01:30With the ball, we could have been better, but we still created some very, very good chances.
01:36And I think the players, or a lot of the players, needed the minutes.
01:42Players that have been coming back from injury, players that have played a lot, but have had a week's break, and are out of that rhythm.
01:53And of course, at the end, where you ideally want the experience on the pitch to keep the calm and work your way back into the game,
02:04we were needing to take those players off to look after them.
02:07So, far from ideal night, I'm not going to dress up the disappointment about the performance,
02:15but equally, we have to stay calm, because we know what needs to be put right,
02:21and we'll work on that between now and the game with Serbia.
02:25Hi Gareth, at the end of the game, there were quite a lot of boos, and there were lots of paper aeroplanes thrown throughout,
02:36which often happens in England games.
02:38Do you understand the fans' frustration, and what is your message to them ahead of the tournament?
02:43Yes, I completely understand.
02:45We didn't play well enough to keep them excited within the game.
02:51As I said, we had some very, very good chances that normally would be finished,
02:55which could have given a different complexion to the game,
02:59and of course would have affected the confidence of the opponent.
03:03But that might also have masked some flaws that were apparent tonight.
03:08From my perspective, I've learned a lot from the game, but no qualms with the supporters' reaction.
03:18To have the fans with you here obviously makes a massive difference,
03:24but you have to give them enough goalmouth action,
03:27you have to play well enough, press and win the ball with intensity,
03:33to keep them with you during the game.
03:36Tonight we didn't do that, so we have to accept the reaction as it was.
03:42Can you clarify, John Stones looked like an ankle injury in the opening minutes.
03:47He had treatment on the field, then he looked like he had treatment at half-time in the tunnel as well.
03:51And then Mark Guehy, blow to the head, how is he?
03:55Mark, fine I think.
03:57John, we decided at half-time no point in taking any chances,
04:02because we were obviously so close to the tournament,
04:06and he's a very important player for us.
04:10Mike Walters and then Henry Winter after that.
04:12Kareth, are you confident that we'll see the best of England against Serbia in nine days' time?
04:18Well, I'm confident we'll be better than we were tonight.
04:23As I said, we're managing so many different things through that game,
04:31and we ended up with a relatively young team on the pitch,
04:38some of whom ideally we would have got off physically as well.
04:42It was a game where we made six subs, but we'd have liked to have made more,
04:47because I think some of the other players could have done with getting out of the game a little bit earlier as well.
04:52The physical side is a slight concern, because we've got so many physical issues.
05:01But, as I said, we needed to get players out of the game on a precautionary level as well,
05:08so that part of it will be better for next Sunday.
05:13Gareth, hi.
05:14Phil Foden is such a special player.
05:16How do you get the best out of him for England, as City do?
05:21I think the team didn't play well enough tonight,
05:26so it wasn't about individuals.
05:30I think, Phil, we actually started really brightly.
05:37Phil, Kobe, Cole, they combined really well.
05:41When we let the goal in, I thought the team lost a little bit of confidence and composure.
05:48So, we have to accept, when you're in an England shirt,
05:52that they're the moments, as a group, that we've got to react in the right way.
05:57That's something that I've spoken to the players about,
06:02and that we can address over the coming days.
06:07Hi, Gareth.
06:08You said you learnt a lot from the game.
06:10It's the first time that you've lost your last game before a tournament,
06:14but it is obviously a friendly.
06:16How much does it change your thinking, the performance, the bits from tonight, ahead of next Sunday?
06:22Not a huge amount,
06:24because I think we haven't had the full group together and on the pitch at any one point.
06:33But it does focus the mind.
06:35It does focus on how we have to drive the team, the sort of reaction we need.
06:41Any sort of complacency that talent is going to get us this trophy,
06:48and that we only have to stroll in.
06:51Football is not like that.
06:53You've got to be spot-on in every aspect of the game to win any game at this level.
06:59We were a long way short of that tonight.
07:02Iceland deserved their win.
07:05They had a couple of other chances on the break that we didn't deal with.
07:10So I think it really focuses our minds to drive the team over the next week.
07:16In addition to the focusing of the mind,
07:18obviously you're disappointed with the result and the performance,
07:20but what were the main wins for you tonight, individually and as a team?
07:27I think a lot of players needed the experience.
07:32A lot of players needed the physical level that the game provided.
07:40As I said earlier, not just those that haven't played for a while,
07:43but those who have had a couple of weeks without a match.
07:48You need that rhythm of playing.
07:50You can train, but there's nothing that replicates the game.
07:56There's a lot for us to improve upon.
07:59But as I said, some players are in very early stages of their England careers
08:07and will have learned a lot about themselves tonight and about the team
08:11and about international football.
08:15The collective of the team that's likely to start
08:20hasn't really been on the pitch at the same time.
08:25I think it's important to get Bukayo back, for example.
08:29It's important for Gergely and Trippier to get more minutes.
08:34Walker, Stones, those guys who've had time off, come back in.
08:40They needed the rhythm of playing to feel the same.
08:44Gareth, just on that, there may be a perception that over eight years
08:47you've been steadily building as a team, particularly in attack,
08:50and now suddenly when you look very close to the trophy,
08:53it's a raft of new and young players who don't necessarily know each other
08:56or haven't played together.
08:57Is that over the top or is that actually an issue,
08:59especially with the way you've talked about stuff like automatisms in the past
09:02and how the team gels?
09:05I think with the ball, we weren't at the level we can be individually.
09:18Passes that were given away.
09:23But in my opinion, it wasn't the major problem tonight.
09:27The major problem was without the ball,
09:29which meant that they got uncomfortable in the game.
09:33If we'd been better without the ball,
09:37I think the rhythm of the game would have been different.
09:40We'd have had more sustained attacks.
09:45We created enough chances to win the game.
09:48So, yes, we can be better with the ball.
09:51We can be individually better with the ball.
09:53But it wasn't the biggest factor, in my opinion, in the game tonight.
09:58Gareth, is there any wider concern than just tonight
10:01that we've going now one win in five games,
10:05which is rare under you for a run like that?
10:08Sure.
10:09Yeah, but I think there's reasons for all of that.
10:12The last qualifying games and the March games, again,
10:16well, this one's similar.
10:18We seem to have been managing players physically
10:21right the way through all of these matches.
10:23In the autumn, it was because we'd qualified.
10:26They had big club games coming up.
10:28We had withdrawals.
10:30In March, that's always the scenario as well.
10:34So, yeah, physically the team is not perfect
10:38and we've got to make the best of that.
10:43But having lost the likes of Maguire and Shaw and people as we have,
10:49then the guys we've got in are the best in those positions
10:53and we're doing everything we can to get them at the level they need to be.
10:58You seem to be talking a lot about worrying about the physicality.
11:01Are you spending most of your time and too much of your time
11:04than you would like just worrying about whether players
11:07are going to be fit enough for this tournament?
11:10Well, we're focusing on all aspects, really.
11:16But we can't hide the fact that we have got a lot of physical issues.
11:21That's plain for everybody to see.
11:26Nevertheless, we can be better than we were tonight
11:29and we've got to be, as I said, more compact, press better
11:35and then take the chances that we created.
11:40But I think we can resolve that.
11:42It's a good opportunity for us to get on the training pitch,
11:45remind ourselves of what's important in terms of winning football matches.
11:51If the intensity of your game isn't right without the ball,
11:54then it can cause you a lot of problems with the ball as well.
11:58We'll take the last one from Lucy Berry at the back and then we'll wrap up.
12:11Hi, Gareth.
12:12There was a lot of talk before the last Euros campaign
12:15that your squad was very young and inexperienced.
12:18I think a lot of people would argue that this squad is even more so.
12:22What lessons did you learn from the last campaign
12:25that make you think that this squad will be even more successful than the last one?
12:33Well, we've obviously lost some experienced players
12:38like Henderson and Maguire because of physical issues.
12:42So, we've put in the players that we think are the best available
12:46at this moment in time in those sorts of positions.
12:51The core of the team still have a lot of tournament experience and a lot of caps.
12:55We haven't, in the last couple of games,
12:57had the core of the team on the pitch at the same time.
13:00Tonight, a lot of the players we're taking off at the point of the game
13:04where you need to be accelerating the game
13:06and pushing to pull the game out of the bag, having gone behind.
13:11So, yeah, that's an unusual night, I have to say,
13:16to be having to manage players, get players off,
13:20really hoping to get other players off, like Kobe, for example,
13:24that we'd have liked to have got off earlier physically in the game.
13:29But we had so many physical issues.
13:31We had to protect the core of the team.
13:36So, yeah, tonight, for me, of course, will be a disappointment.
13:41I understand the reaction that everybody will have,
13:44but I have to stay calm because I know the reasons for it.
13:47I can see what we need to do in the next week or so.
13:50And without a doubt, we'll be far better next Sunday than we were in the game tonight.
13:56OK, we'll end it there. Thank you very much.
13:58OK, thank you.
14:06Thank you.