Published 21 June 2021 2 min read
England Men's Senior Team
Final thoughts
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Gareth Southgate shares his thoughts ahead of final group game against Czech Republic
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Gareth Southgate backed his captain and ‘most important’ player Harry Kane in his final press conference before facing Czech Republic on Tuesday night.
England face the Czechs for the first time at a major tournament having already qualified for the knockout stages and knowing a win will see them finish top of the group.
And Southgate has every confidence that striker Kane, who is yet to find the back of the net in the tournament, will open his account at Wembley Stadium connected by EE on Tuesday.
“He’s been our best player, our most influential and our most important player for a long period of time,” said Southgate, speaking to the press on Monday night.
“Of course there have been moments when others, like Raheem [Sterling], have been critical for us in terms of goals but Harry has consistently been our best goal scorer.
“His record since we’ve been in charge is phenomenal and he’s a hugely important figure for us.”
Despite dominating possession and hitting the post early on against Scotland, England couldn’t find a breakthrough as the score ended 0-0 for only the fourth time in 115 meetings.
Meanwhile the Czechs have looked dangerous in attack with Patrik Schick looking the danger man, scoring all three of their goals so far.
“We were in control for the majority of it [the Scotland game] but just weren’t able to break them down so we’ve talked about that and what we can do differently against them in the future,” Southgate added.
“We play a totally different team next, and a very good team, that we have huge respect for and we’ve concentrated on preparing for that next challenge.”
Southgate opted for the same midfield and attack as he had for the 1-0 win over Croatia but could yet be forced into changes after Mason Mount was forced to self-isolate in accordance with COVID-19 protocols.
“It’s obviously a massive disappointment for any players to be missing matches but we are in the same situation as everyone else in the country whose lives have been affected.”
21 Jun 2021
Final preparations
Live training and Harry Maguire previews Czech Republic clash