sport news If you think this means more to Wales, go in our dressing room: Gareth ... trends now
On one subject at least, on Monday, Gareth Southgate was prepared to concede some ground to Wales.
‘They have a great anthem to be fair,’ he said. ‘It’s stirring.’
But ahead of a World Cup meeting with the Welsh tonight, that was as far as the England manager felt he should go.
England manager gareth Southgate speaks to the media during a press conference on Monday
This may be a game being characterised as a home international taking place in the desert but for the England manager it is simpler than that. ‘Any England game has a highly-motivated opponent and I don’t really see this being any different to how the game was the other night against the USA,’ said Southgate.
‘The opponent was huge in terms of their desire to beat England. Well coached, same as this team. World-class talents, same as this team. We know there is always more noise around this. But in actual fact on the grass, in terms of the challenge and what we are going to focus on, we have got to prepare in the same way.’
Victory against Wales tonight would secure England first place in Group B. Wales, having earned only a point from two games so far, are playing largely for pride and in theory that freedom may make them slightly more dangerous.
On this, though, Southgate wished to be clear. When it was put to him that the Welsh may be driven by the emotion of the occasion more than the English, he said: ‘I think if people want to say that then they wouldn’t know our dressing room very well. Or any England dressing room I was in as a player.
Southgate dismissed suggestions that the game means more to Wales than England
‘That’s an easy narrative for people to say but it’s not my experience.’
Games between England and their neighbours from the UK tend to be notable for two things. They rarely contain an awful lot of expansive football and England usually win. The Three Lions have lost once in their last 10 matches with Wales. Against
