Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane addressed the media ahead of England’s EURO 2024 opener against Serbia at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen. England, considered one of the favourites, face a challenging start to the tournament as they match up with Dragan Stojković’s side.
Embed from Getty ImagesThree Lions manager, Gareth Southgate, acknowledged the formidable challenge that Serbia presents on Sunday evening. “[They are] very tough. They have good individual players, fantastic collective spirit. Dangerous forwards. We know this is a difficult opening game for us and we have to play at our very best to win.”
Southgate also emphasised the need for a measured approach throughout the group stage: “Our focus is to qualify from the group. When you’re trying to achieve exceptional things, you have to break it down into chunks. Our first priority is to get through the group and work from there.”
Reflecting on the honour of leading England into another major tournament, Southgate expressed his upmost excitement toward another challenge with the Three Lions. “[I’m] hugely excited. To lead your country into a major tournament is an amazing honour- a great privilege. It’s just as exciting as it was ahead of Russia, if not more so.”
Regarding the pressure of being one of the favourites of EURO2024, Southgate was pragmatic in his response. “You’ve seen Germany play the way they did last night, Spain today. There are a lot of good teams in this tournament. We have to be exceptional to progress through the group and have the opportunity to go further.”
Southgate also commented on the expectations surrounding Jude Bellingham: “From my perspective, he’s a young player and one of a number of very important players in the team. In this team, that load is spread. He has a fantastic mindset and the ability to adapt. He has coped so well at a young age. It’s great to have the talented players that we have but the onus is on everyone to do their part.”
Discussing the strategic setup against Serbia, Southgate highlighted the opposition’s versatility. “Dragan [Stojković] has different options, we know they can play in different systems and the strikers they have can cause problems for any team. They have a settled way of playing. We have to be able to deal with their strengths and try to exploit their weaknesses because every team in the tournament has them.”
He also confirmed the team’s readiness and player availability. “Everyone is available. We have a decision to make whether Luke [Shaw] is possible to use from the bench or not, but everyone has trained today and is available.”
On the potential risks associated with the match, Southgate remained positive. He expressed, “I expect everyone to enjoy the football. I’ve been fortunate to travel to a lot of football and they’re great carnivals and great chances to meet people from different parts of the world. The whole of Europe can come together and support their team and get behind their team.”
Harry Kane shared his anticipation for the tournament and his personal goals for the summer spell. “Of course I’m really looking forward to this tournament. Back in 2018, winning the Golden Boot was an amazing achievement. We want to win the European Championships; and if I win the Golden Boot along the way then I’m obviously helping my team. We have some great goal-scorers in the team, with players in form who have had fantastic seasons. We’re excited to get going tomorrow.”
Kane also reflected on his passion for playing for England and his determination to secure a trophy: “It would mean a lot. I love playing for England. It means the world to me every time I step out onto the pitch wearing the shirt. Winning a trophy for your country would be the pinnacle of every career. It hasn’t quite happened yet but it makes me more determined and hungry to go out and do that, starting with this summer. We have the opportunity to go out and do that and I’m looking forward to trying to make that happen.”
The Bayern München forward also discussed the potential difficulties that Serbia might pose for his team come Sunday evening. “We want to win the game tomorrow evening but in the 90 minutes, anything can happen. We want to have a fantastic game and play in the style that we want to play. Without the ball, we want to be aggressive. Hopefully, we go out tomorrow night and show a good side of ourselves.”
Regarding the pressure of being favourites, Kane recognised the expectations. “Every tournament poses different expectations but we’ve earned the right to be classed as one of the favourites. But we look at ourselves individually and as a team and we know we’ve done a lot of things well and made the country proud in good tournaments. We’re here to win ultimately, and there will be nothing better than to do that for the nation.”
Kane also addressed the qualities of Serbia’s key players, Aleksandar Mitrović and Dušan Tadić. “He’s [Mitrovic] a goalscorer and he’s proven that throughout his career for club and country. With Tadic, he’s a brilliant player and technically very gifted. They’re two players we’re aware of and will be keeping an eye on tomorrow night.”
Ahead of their opening clash against Serbia, England’s collective resolve and strategic leadership from figures like Southgate and Kane are poised to steer them through the demanding landscape of EURO 2024, aiming to go all the way in Germany.
Stay tuned for more updates from FromTheSpot as England head on their EURO2024 journey.
