SOUTHGATE’S ALL OF A FLUTTER
Punters piling on his Three Lions
GARETH SOUTHGATE has challenged his players to bash the bookies after England were installed as one of the favourites to win the Euros.
The Three Lions boss reckons punters are allowing their hearts to rule their heads when it comes to having a flutter on this summer’s tournament.
A flurry of bets on England has helped make them hot fancies alongside world champions France in the betting stakes.
While Southgate feels his men are capable of beating anyone, he accepts there is plenty of room for improvement as they bid to bring home a first piece of silverware since Sir Alf Ramsey’s boys of ’66.
Southgate said: “I’ll assume it’s a gambling company that has made us favourites?
“Bookies never walk home from a race meeting – I learned that very early in my life.
“They’re not silly. They don’t want to lose money.
“People will pile on to England, they will adjust the odds – and that’s why we’re favourites.
“We’re one of a number of teams who, I think, are in the frame. Have we peaked as a team? I don’t think we have.
“But can we say we’re ahead of Portugal, who’ve won a Nations League and a Euros? Or France, who are world champions? Or
Belgium, who have been ranked No.1 for four years and only lost two or three games?
“We can’t be arrogant and say we’re ahead of those teams. We’re in that group – like Italy, Spain and Germany – who are improving quickly.
“It’s an incredibly strong field. We are capable, I think, of beating any team on a given day.
“What we’ve got to do is put those performances back-to-back to succeed in this tournament. That’s the challenge for us.”
England must first emerge from a group made up with Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic.
And there is even hope now that Wembley will be rammed to its 90,000 capacity – if the coronavirus pandemic is brought under the necessary level of control in time.
Southgate missed the crucial penalty that saw a cruel Euro96 semi-final exit at the hands of
Germany the last time England hosted a tournament.
But after guiding the Three Lions to the last four of the 2018 World Cup and to third place in the inaugural Nations League in 2019, the England boss has no fears about his crop of players being weighed down by previous failures.
Southgate, who will name his final 26-man squad on Tuesday once he knows whether there have been any casualties from the Champions League Final, said: “It’s an opportunity. We can be the first. We’ve never got to a European Championship final. We’ve only been to one semi-final.
“These players don’t need to worry about ’96. Most of them weren’t born – and God that’s depressing!
“We can use some little things that happened along the way then, but this is their moment, this is their opportunity.
“For some it’s early in their careers, for some it’s got to happen soon. They have got to approach it with that freshness and excitement.
“We have a great opportunity to bring happiness and enjoyment to people.
“That’s one of the beauties of being involved with the national team – and we’re desperate to try to do that.”
These players don’t need to worry
of about ’96. Most them weren’t even born... and God that’s depressing!