Gareth Southgate delivers worrying fitness update and hints at rotation for England’s clash with Slovenia… as Three Lions boss drafts in yoga expert
- The England coach admitted that his team suffered from a lack of intensity
- The Three Lions stars were put to the test during a yoga session on Friday
- Listen to It all starts! Gareth Southgate’s Luke Shaw call-up was an absolute stinker! It was another mistake that left England so lopsided
Gareth Southgate has provided a worrying fitness update ahead of England’s final group match against Slovenia on Tuesday, revealing his side are suffering from a lack of intensity due to the squad’s ‘physical condition’.
England have looked disappointing, lackluster and unconvincing so far at Euro 2024. England narrowly beat Serbia 1-0 in the opening match before drawing 1-1 with Denmark with a disappointing performance on Thursday.
With Luke Shaw still not having played a minute of football since mid-February as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury, the left-back has become a key problem area for Southgate, with right-footed substitute Kieran Trippier struggling to provide natural width on the wing. left flank.
Meanwhile, captain Harry Kane appears to be missing a yard of pace after suffering a back injury against Bayern Munich – and the Three Lions camp in general is feeling the pinch in the wake of a hugely exhausting and busy domestic football season.
Southgate revealed his stars are not pressing in the way he had hoped going into the tournament. He gave a worrying update and hinted he would make a handful of changes ahead of Tuesday’s match against Slovenia.
Gareth Southgate gave a worrying fitness update ahead of the England v Slovenia match
Jude Bellingham and Co struggled to apply pressure up front in their dull 1-1 draw against Denmark
Three Lions stars were put to the test during Dr Rebekah Jade’s yoga session on Friday
“We’re not pressing well enough and with enough intensity,” the Three Lions boss admitted. “We have limitations in how we can do that with physical fitness.
‘We can’t press as high on the pitch as we could have done in the qualifiers, for example. And not keeping the ball well enough. It’s that simple. We need to keep the ball better and build with more control. Then we defend less and have more confidence.’
The England stars were put to the test during a yoga session on Friday, when Dr. Rebekah ‘Zeena’ Jade was called upon to improve their fitness and speed up their recovery ahead of Tuesday’s match.
Southgate hopes the yoga can help with England’s lack of intensity in the first two games of Euro 2024.
Despite scoring the opener, Kane endured a passive and frustrating match against Denmark before being substituted in the 70th minute.
The manager gave an update on Kane’s fitness and spoke about whether he will make any big changes against Slovenia: ‘Harry has only had one 90 minutes in five or six weeks.
Southgate hopes the yoga can help with England’s lack of intensity in the first two games of Euro 2024
Despite scoring the opener, Kane endured a passive and frustrating match against Denmark before being substituted in the 70th minute.
Meanwhile, England defender Luke Shaw is a doubt for England’s final match against Slovenia
‘We are going to look at everything (in terms of changes). We look at the performance and look at the next opponent and find the best solutions for the next game.
‘We felt the right thing to do against Denmark was to give confidence to the players we picked in the first match. We won the previous match.’