DBasia.news – In just a matter of days, the England National Team will start its journey at Euro 2020. However, the Three Lions are considered to still have a number of shortcomings.
England, who are members of Group D, will play their inaugural match against Croatia at Wembley Stadium, Sunday (13/6). This is a duel between the finalists and semifinalists of the 2018 World Cup.
Southgate is well aware of the importance of this result. If they lose, the confidence of Marcus Rashford and his team mates can be disturbed.
The problem is, defeating Croatia will not be an easy thing to do. Moreover, England is threatened to appear without its best strength as there are a number of key players injured.
Southgate assesses the English defense still has many holes. He is now in a race against time to fix this.
“We weren’t disciplined in the way we defended, our defensive recovery wasn’t going well enough. It means the midfield is too far apart and the defenders have too many decisions to make,” Southgate said.
“They have to come to a space where they shouldn’t need to be.”
Southgate’s concern is actually quite surprising. England have conceded only one goal in five matches in 2021.
The threat of the absence of Harry Maguire in the match against Croatia has made South gate doubt. The Manchester United defender is still in a race against time to recover from injury.
If forced, Maguire’s appearance will also likely not be optimal. He needs time to get back on his best.
Reluctant to be pessimistic
However, this condition does not make Southgate pessimistic. He believes England still has a big enough chance to beat Croatia.
“We were able to improve all the small details in the two test matches we had. A few things about discipline and the details of the defensive scheme.”