Subscribe to ITV Sport: https://www.youtube.com/@ITVSport
Make sure you're following ITV Sport for all the latest!
X: https://x.com/itvfootball
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itvfootball
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itvsport
Make sure you're following ITV Sport for all the latest!
X: https://x.com/itvfootball
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itvfootball
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itvsport
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Well done. A winning start. What's your verdict on the performance?
00:04We can do better. We have to do better. I think we started quite well. I think we had seven,
00:11eight minutes, 100 percent ball possession with a lot of passes and then a high energy.
00:19But the opponent is hard to wear down because they defended in a deep, deep block and
00:25all the matches that we saw, also in the Euros, they managed to not concede chances,
00:30not concede goals. The second half I felt like we were too slow and we were not,
00:38in general, maybe not enough runs off the ball to get more often behind the line.
00:44Myles Lewis-Skelly, you gave him his debut. Where do you place that for an 18-year-old?
00:47Yeah, he's an amazing, amazing player, amazing personality. He came into camp and showed
00:53straight away that it's so normal to fall in love with him. He's a top player,
01:00amazing character and well deserved.
01:03You've worked with some star players up close. Jude Bellingham, what are your impressions?
01:08Yeah, there's no doubt that he's a key player for us. He had a fantastic pass to assist the
01:14first goal and, of course, we expect special things from Jude. He's ready to take this
01:21responsibility and we have to create an environment and a structure where we can see more of it.
01:32What about in the wide positions, Rashford and Foden this evening?
01:38We hope for more impact on these positions than we tried with Anthony and Gerard Bowen.
01:45I hope for a little bit more impact, for more dribblings, less passes, more dribblings and
01:50more aggressive runs towards the box. I think this was, in general, missing. I think all the
01:55chances came from the little runs, from little diagonal runs behind the line. Jude had some
01:59good runs in the first half of the first half. Miles scored from it. Kyle Walker had one where
02:06we had then the big chance to score the second one. This was a bit missing. They were not as
02:14decisive as they can be.
02:16I think we're going to enjoy his honesty, aren't we? Particularly about the wide players there,
02:19Foden and Rashford.
02:20What it sounded to me like, he says he wants people taking people on. Too many side passes
02:25coming back and we saw that a lot with Field. We saw Marcus kind of running down into blind
02:29alleys a little bit but I think that, if anything, them two, they're both fortunate to be called in
02:35with the way it's going for them at the moment. Obviously, Marcus getting a little bit of a
02:39renaissance at Villa but, you know, the way they play today is probably something you'd look at
02:43and say, yeah, if I'm on the outside of that as an English player, from the wing point of view,
02:48I'll be thinking I've got to step my game up. I might get a shot here.
02:52Yeah, if you're one of them attacking players and you've come off the pitch and you've dominated
02:54a game like that against a poor Albanian team, you've not scored a goal, you've not had a shot
02:59on target, you've not tested a goalkeeper, you would be disappointed because you're there to
03:03affect games. You've got a new manager, you want to make a good impression and Rashford and Foden
03:09certainly didn't do that today.
03:10It was very noticeable because we could see Phil Foden going down the right-hand side,
03:13he's left-footed, that every single time he cut infield on his left foot, which meant England's
03:17attack sort of concertinaed, skewiffed to the left, if you know what I mean. He never once
03:22tried to really take the full back on the outside.
03:24I think he might be lacking in confidence and he's definitely off it. His club performance
03:29is not great but we know he's got that quality. But even tonight when he was getting it, I wasn't
03:33sitting here going, usually when Foden's at his best, you're sitting there going, something's
03:35going to happen. Even when he cuts in, he'll pick a pass out, get a shot away. He'd done none of
03:40that tonight and every time he gets to bar nine, I'm looking at him going, I don't expect anything
03:43from Foden at the moment.
03:44Now, he might want to play number 10 but the reality is that Jude Bellingham's going to play
03:47number 10.
03:48Yeah, I know, but you can't go down that road again where he wants to.
03:51No, what I mean is, if he wants to get in the team, he might have to play.
03:54Yeah, but whatever he's playing, you affect the game, you can affect the game in different ways
03:57and he didn't do that tonight.
03:58That's the point, is that we know that Phil Foden can come inside and he can be very creative
04:03in what he's doing. He's probably got licence to do that. But like the manager's saying today,
04:08people didn't go past anyone. There wasn't enough progressive passing and running with the ball.
04:12Listen, Foden won't have that problem coming up about where he wants to play,
04:14because he won't be playing.
04:15As debuts go, sum that up.
04:19I'm lost for words really. I'm just so grateful for the manager to put trust in me
04:24and just to show the teammates. They paid me so much trust today and I'm so happy,
04:28you know. I'm lost for words.
04:30Which was better for that goal, the pass or the finish?
04:33Definitely the pass, you know. I just had to put it in the back of the net, but yeah,
04:37great pass from Gid.
04:38What about his debut? You know this guy, Declan, of course.
04:41Did you have any fear tonight for him when you heard he was going to start?
04:44Not at all. I think that's one word you can use for him is he's fearless.
04:48He does everything right off the pitch. He prepares himself.
04:51He's only 18. I tried to look after him as best I can,
04:54but I knew he was going to play like that tonight because of the confidence he has in himself
04:58and the way he's trained all week and what I've seen at the club and how he is around the club.
05:03His mum, his dad, everyone, his brothers should be so proud of him because his rise this year
05:07has gone unreal and he's kept his feet on the ground, so this is only the start.
05:11This is only the start for him, so he's got to keep going.
05:13There you go, only the start. Did you feel at home?
05:15Yeah, definitely. The fans made me feel at home, so yeah, thank you to them.
05:20You know you were the youngest scorer for England apart from two players, Rooney and Owen.
05:25Well, that's incredible. That's incredible. Yeah, I've got nothing to say really, just
05:30yeah, that's amazing.
05:32And sum it up, Declan, just as an overall performance, what the manager wanted,
05:35what he'll be pleased with and maybe what you've got to work on.
05:37Yeah, just obviously it's only been four days training together.
05:41You know, we need to keep working, need to keep getting used to what he wants from us.
05:45Obviously Albania sat in a low block, it's hard to break down, you've got to keep going,
05:48but to win in the boss's first game was a real positive and to get us to a good start in the
05:53group was what we wanted. So look, things to improve on, but an all-round positive night.
05:58And get the shirt signed and framed.
06:03Don't eBay it.
06:05Well done.
06:07Great to see his excitement and his joy of scoring his England debut.
06:10Just makes me think there's somebody out there watching that, an Englishman,
06:13professional footballer, who must be thinking World Cup's 15, 16 months away.
06:18He's come from nowhere, if you know what I mean, Lewis Skelly, to get in the team.
06:21There is still time and there are always those sorts of players.
06:24There will be, yeah. We see it all the time and that's why you've got to believe in yourself
06:28when you get the opportunities. We always talk about players getting opportunities,
06:32you've got to take it and he certainly took it tonight. He took it with Arsenal in the
06:36few games he played, what, nine, ten games, and I thought this goal was fantastic.
06:40Bellingham getting on it, waiting,
06:43buying his time and waiting for that run and the little bit of space that was available.
06:47Brilliant pass, brilliant run, lovely finish, excellent goal.
06:51It's a super goal. It's something that, obviously, again, for Arsenal,
06:55he can get himself in those positions. Obviously, when he was younger playing in the academy,
06:59he played in that position, he got himself in the box and what he's showing is his capability
07:04of being able to play from a left-back, inverted, in that position as a winger.
07:09He can go in and still score, he knows when to make that run.
07:12I was pleased from Declan's right as well. He knew that, from a confidence point of view,
07:16and Mikel and obviously this manager now, they've chosen him because they know that he's got the
07:20capability to deal with this.
07:22You've got to be fearless. You've got to be, dare I say, a little bit arrogant,
07:26which means belief in your own ability, not the way you conduct yourself off the pitch.
07:30That's the only way, when you are that young,
07:32isn't it, that you're going to be able to withstand what goes on out there.
07:34And then what happens is you go out there, and like he said when he's playing, he said,
07:38obviously, the fans made it very welcoming for him, but the players, when you're playing with
07:42better players, it's even better. As long as you're doing everything right, you get it,
07:45you pass it at pace, because the players will be able to control it and move it,
07:49and you can see that he enjoyed the night.
07:51And he's playing at the highest level. He's playing the Premiership week,
07:53and they talk about step up in international football. That wouldn't have been tonight.
07:57That was just getting used to combinations with a new centre-half next to him,
08:00the players in front of him, but you still have to cope with it.
08:02But as we know, and I don't want to sound like a grumpy old man,
08:04but the bigger tests are yet to come for him in terms of his international career.
08:07In terms of being welcomed by his teammates, they would spot very quickly whether he had
08:11that level of confidence, ability, fearlessness or not. You'd know that on the training ground,
08:15wouldn't you?
08:15And also the important thing for the manager this week, he'd know he's a good player,
08:18but it's nice to get a close look at him in training and see him around the hotel,
08:21how he interacts with the players, the staff, and that's what it gave the manager the confidence
08:25to say, I'm putting you straight in, and he certainly didn't let him down.