- England are set to get their Euro 2024 campaign underway on Sunday vs Serbia
- Gareth Southgate has backed his whole squad to have an impact in Germany
- LISTEN: On It’s All Kicking Off! Why England’s defence could prevent football from coming home
Gareth Southgate will not be naming any substitutes in England’s Euro 2024 opener against Serbia on Sunday. Instead, he will list 13 outfield ‘finishers’.
That is the message the squad have been given at their training base here in Blankenhain this week. No one, says the boss, is a reserve. Rather, players not starting should see themselves as those with the ability to impact at the other end of the contest.
It is an interesting concept, first introduced by England rugby head coach Eddie Jones in 2017 and adopted by Southgate. And what a pool of ‘finishers’ he will have to call upon, considering the seasons enjoyed by the likes of Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins. That quintet scored 79 Premier League goals between them last term, and each hit double figures.
So when Crystal Palace forward Eze chatted with us on Thursday, he did not seem hung up on the notion of winning a start in Gelsenkirchen this weekend.
‘It’s not just about the 11,’ he insisted. ‘It’s about the whole team, the culture, the collective. You win the tournament as a collective. Everyone knows that, everyone wants to understand that.
‘It’s putting your ego to the side and being able to focus on what’s important for the team. If you have that type of culture, which we do, you’ve got the best chance. The manager spoke about “finishers”. We call them finishers, we know that. The players that come onto the pitch, there is a mentality about it, there’s a way to go about it. There’s importance in that role, it’s not just about the 11.’
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Eze is also just grateful to be here. He probably would have made the last European Championship three years ago if not rupturing his Achilles in the hours before receiving his first England call-up. It has given the 25-year-old a sense of perspective.
‘It was obviously my first time getting that text message (in the squad), but this is after my Achilles had been ruptured on the training pitch,’ he revealed.
‘I’d gone inside, checked my phone and saw the message, so it was a tough day. From then, you’re dealing with the emotion of, “what could have been”. I was there watching (Euro 2020) with a cast on my foot. In that time, you’re overthinking, “Oh, imagine if I was there”.
‘But I think those types of experiences make you stronger, they build your character and they give you more strength going forward.’
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Eze won inclusion ahead of Jack Grealish in Germany because of his ability to change pace and direction, and so change a game. Grealish, if not starting, is no longer an impact sub. He has been re-programmed by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, exorcising the free spirit that would have once been so suited to that role of finisher. Eze and Palmer will likely be the first players Southgate turns to if England need a goal, or an injection of fresh ideas in the final third.
Further back, and for different reasons, Conor Gallagher is the finisher Southgate will use to protect an in-game advantage. It looks like being Trent Alexander-Arnold who will start alongside Declan Rice against Serbia, but the hard-running Gallagher is an insurance policy upon which the boss can depend. He, too, knows his role.
‘There are a lot more talented attacking players than myself,’ said the Chelsea midfielder. ‘If I was to choose to take on three players and have a shot, or pass to Phil Foden or Jude (Bellingham), I’d probably pass to them!’
Gallagher and Eze played pool in front of Mail Sport after speaking to us inside Blankenheim Castle yesterday, and it was Eze who found the finish to win.
The former Crystal Palace team-mates will watch the tournament opener between Germany and Scotland on the big screen by the team’s swimming pool on Friday night, and Gallagher has revealed he might have even been playing in Munich.
‘My dad’s side is Irish and my mum’s dad is Scottish,’ he said. ‘When I was 15 or 16, I wasn’t good enough to play for the England youth team, so I went to train with one of the Scotland teams to see what I was like, and I wasn’t good enough for them either! So I managed to work my way back into the England youth set-up and was lucky enough to stay there.’
Scotland’s loss will be England’s gain, even if we do have to wait until Southgate turns to his finishers.