sport news Gareth Southgate won't see his England players again until the week before the ... trends now
As Gareth Southgate picked over the bones of another less than satisfactory week in a Wembley corridor late on Monday night, Phil Foden passed behind him. Tapping his manager on the shoulder, a handshake and a hug followed.
For the England manager and his players, that’s it for now. Goodbye. The next time they see each other will be in the third week of November, six days before the start of the World Cup.
It is a quite unusual situation. Despite the much-needed fillip provided by England’s comeback against Germany, Southgate knows and admits his players are in need of something to restore confidence whittled away by six games without a win, stretching back to the end of last season.
Gareth Southgate will not see his England players again before the Qatar World Cup this winter
Equally, he cannot work with them or even see them as he looks to put right what is wrong. It is a conundrum to which there is not necessarily an answer.
‘I think the players have been through a lot and the psychology of it all is fascinating for us at the moment,’ said Southgate.
‘There are different expectations and different levels of experience in the group.
‘Some young ones are actually handling it brilliantly but there are some who are needing help and guidance. They will be thinking, “What is this?”
‘We have talked about how the shirt feels and they are experiencing for the first time a little bit of what some of the older ones have been through in the past. What we face now is unique to us compared to any other sport internationally.
Southgate saw his side come from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 against Germany on Monday evening
Harry Kane had scored emphatically from the penalty spot to give the Three Lions the lead
‘The rugby players get eight weeks together just for the Six Nations. The cricketers are together all year on central contracts. This is the difference.
‘This tournament is unique. We don’t get the four weeks we had ahead of the World Cup in Russia. But we have to adapt better than anybody else.’
With 20 minutes left on Monday night against a German team who have also been struggling, England were pretty much on their knees. Two goals down and facing the kind of final-whistle reception we have not heard at Wembley for some time.
From there, 3-3 represented one of international football’s great get-out-of-jail moments.
