Nothing says summer quite like a disappointing England campaign, and the Three Lions are in danger of a similarly underwhelming tournament in Germany. Gareth Southgate’s squad struggled to win four points from their first two matches, doing so in entirely uninteresting fashion.
Meeting the press ahead of a final group stage match against Slovenia, though, Southgate and Declan Rice have promised that England are yet to reach the levels they are aiming for, and that the open dialogue held between players and coaching staff is key to improving the team’s fortunes.
What did Gareth Southgate say?
“We have had time on the training pitch and plenty of discussions with the players,” Southgate said, speaking from Cologne. “We know where we need to be better, we haven’t hidden from that, we have a very open dialogue between players and staff and we are all on the same page with that. The route forward was pretty simple to highlight, then of course we have to go and deliver it, and I am expecting that we will do that tomorrow.”
He continued: “The mood [in the team] is very good. What is important is the internal, we are the only ones who can perform on the pitch, the only ones who can work together to get those performances better. The results have basically put us in the next round already, and it is now about whether we can win the group, but of course we want to hit a different level to what we have hit so far.”
After Harry Kane slammed pundits on Sunday, Southgate stressed the importance of blocking out the criticisms of pundits and supporters alike – commenting that he has learned to tune out the noise in his years of management.
“A few years ago I would have read things, would have listened to things, it would have saddened me and taken energy from me. Now, I have to cut myself off from it because you lose focus and lose what’s important,” he said.
“It gives me great perspective, it allows me to be as I appear now with the team. They can see that in actual fact, we are thinking about how we improve things, we are composed in what we’re trying to do, we never duck where we are as a team, I don’t think anyone ever will have heard me say anything about our performances that was inaccurate or overly glossy, and we are determined to progress, so none of those things will change.”
“It’s not just media, it’s a different environment. If you don’t open yourself to it, then it can’t affect you.”
What did Declan Rice say?
Rice backed Southgate’s message, adding that the squad’s leadership group have worked together to identify areas of improvement. He also pointed out that England’s trajectory in this tournament is not dissimilar to that of EURO2020, where the Three Lions struggled in the group stage before clicking in later matches.
With that in mind, he said that “tomorrow night we are really ready, we want to top the group and have 7 points, and it’s a chance to start looking forward in a positive way.”
That culture of positivity, openness, and personal wellbeing is reflected in the introduction of Oura Rings, a piece of wearable fitness technology which claims to provide ’round-the-clock insights into sleep, fitness, and stress for wellness.’
The England squad have been outfitted with the rings for the tournament, relying on the insights offered to optimise recovery periods. This also extends to team staff such as analysts and kitmen, who Southgate reports have been made to work late nights and early mornings due to late kickoffs, which have seen England return to camp as late as 4am.
There are no easy matches at a tournament such as the EUROs, a fact which Rice affirmed. Looking ahead to Slovenia, he warned that they will pose a similar threat to Serbia and Denmark – and that the squad is not to be underestimated.
“I’ve watched Slovenia in their first two group games, and they’ve actually been really good,” he said. “[They have] a lot of strong players, really fast, obviously the main talking point, [Benjamin] Šeško, the boy up front, he has been a big target for clubs around Europe, tomorrow is going to be really tough.”
With Slovenia still a contender for qualification, Rice is braced for an intense match.
He continued: “When you play teams like Slovenia you know what you’re going to get. They’re going to come at us, they’re going to want to shock the world. Tomorrow is a chance for us to bounce back from the other night and I think that is the beauty of football, you always get a second chance. I hope we can put the last two games behind us and move forward in a positive way.”
He adds that he is desperate to fulfil the fans’ expectations, which are higher than ever given the wealth of talent in the squad.
“A lot of people think because we’re England, you should go out and win games four or five nil, but the reality of it is that that Denmark team got to the semifinals of the EURO2024 two or three years ago and has some top players. We played a Serbia team that has top Champions League and Premier League players, and it is about finding that balance of what we want.”
“We can get better, I’m sure we will as the tournament goes on.”