Euro 2020 - 'More to come from us' - Gareth Southgate praises England and 'fabulous' Bukayo Saka
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Updated 23/06/2021 at 09:32 GMT
England finished top of Group D after Raheem Sterling's goal earned them a 1-0 win over Czech Republic at Wembley. They will next likely face France, Germany or Portugal in the last 16 and manager Gareth Southgate believes his side will get better as they prepare for their crunch clash next Tuesday.
'More to come from us' - Southgate praises England and 'fabulous' Saka
Gareth Southgate believes there is “definitely more to come” from England after they beat Czech Republic to secure top spot in Group D at Euro 2020.
Raheem Sterling’s 12th-minute goal was the difference at Wembley as England set up a likely last-16 clash against France, Germany or Portugal.
While England have not set the tournament alight with their performances, they are yet to concede and have looked comfortable against Czech Republic.
“There are a lot of good things we are doing,” England manager Southgate told ITV.
“There’s more to come from us, definitely. We haven’t scored from a set play yet, which I know people laughed about us only scoring from set plays, but they are crucial in big matches so we have to get those nailed. We are not fluent but we have moments where we look a good side.
“We have managed to get most of the squad into games which is good, 90 minutes for Harry Maguire tonight which was important, Hendo [Jordan Henderson] 45 which was a real step forward. A lot of positives for us.”
Southgate made several changes against Czech Republic as Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka and Harry Maguire started.
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Reaction from England fans as Southgate's side beat Czech Republic
The moves paid off as Saka was named man of the match while Grealish set up Sterling’s goal with a chipped cross to the back post.
And Southgate, who was without Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell as they are self-isolating, said he has been “super impressed” with Saka.
“I thought we started really well. We were stable with the ball, and credit to the players because some of the stuff we changed overnight because of the different personnel.
“It’s a huge credit to the players that they were as stable as they were.
“We hadn’t finalised everything because we got the shout during training. We have been super impressed with Bukayo through the whole month. He was excellent at Middlesbrough and we have really liked him with and without the ball, and tonight his receiving under pressure was fantastic.”
Looking ahead to England’s last-16 clash, which will be played with 45,000 fans at Wembley, Southgate added: “It’s great to have more supporters in. Who knows if it will be a good draw or not, but we wanted to stay at Wembley. We will wait and see who we play.”
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