People might say they need to be more creative, yes, hopefully that will get better as the tournament goes on, but from a defensive point of view they're putting themselves in a position to go all the way. He said: 'The performances are getting better and better, but they are building a very solid base with this defensive unit. but the last tournament England went into their fifth game without conceding a goal was the World Cup in 1966.įormer England boss Sam Allardyce has praised his successor Southgate's build-from-the-back approach and told Sky Sports their quality as a unit could take them all the way again. It has been mentioned once or twice already.

It's impossible to pick a team that everybody will agree with but we've got to pick the right players for the right moment.'įormer England manager Sam Allardyce says Gareth Southgate will be watching the body language of his players closely ahead of their Euro 2020 quarter-final against Ukraine. 'I've said all along it's impossible to keep everybody happy. We just have got such a strong array of attacking talent.

Pushed on whether Foden and Grealish could play together, Southgate said: 'Absolutely they can work together, they have played for us in the past together. That means Jack Grealish may have to settle for coming off the bench, as he did to such good effect against Germany.

That would allow for an extra creative player in midfield for a game in which England are expected to dominate possession, with Mount in line for a recall now that he is back in full training with the squad after his 10-day isolation period. Ukraine offer a different threat but while they played 4-3-3 in their group games, they switched to 3-5-2 for the knockout win against Sweden.Įngland have conceded just one goal in their last eight internationals when using a flat back four.

Euro 2020 england ukraine