My Best Players Want To Play For England – Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate believes the future is bright for England thanks to the mix of technical ability and athleticism coming through the ranks.

Wembley witnessed one of the Three Lions’ most entertaining matches in a long while on Friday, despite the World Cup preparation friendly against holders Germany ending goalless.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek was among the five players to be handed their senior international debuts and the 21-year-old justified his inclusion with a man-of-the-match display.

Such talent could well be the tip of the iceberg given the unparalleled success of England’s development teams this year, winning the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups as well as the Under-19 European Championship.

“My experiences are that the best players want to be here,” England boss Southgate said. “The best players are the best players because they have that hunger and desire to test themselves on the biggest of stages, and with that comes certain pressures and a huge challenge.

“But also we want it to be fun for them. If they play with the ball like they did against Germany, they will enjoy it.

“We’ve got to give them belief and we have got to give them time, whether it is me that benefits from that or the next manager.

“The reason I was given the job was that I have an understanding of what is coming through. We’ve looked at what Germany have done over a period of time and want to establish a pathway for our young players.

“If we do that, the technical type of player that is coming through our system now and the athletic profile we have got could be really exciting.”