It wasn’t a jaunt, either.
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The 6ft 2in striker has tended to prove himself a hit wherever he has played, having enjoyed several loan spells away from parent club Tottenham Hotspur before breaking into their senior team and establishing himself as one of the first names on the team sheet in recent seasons.
Spending time in the National Football League and studying Germany and Spain’s World Cup wins has helped England improve their set-pieces, says manager Gareth Southgate.
However, Southgate is having none of that. “There are fantastic examples out there and experiences to take on board”.
“It wasn’t what I wanted to do [after the Euros]”.
Brazil have failed to really get going so far, Cristiano Ronaldo has had to single-handedly drag Portugal through the early stages of the tournament, and France have looked anything less than inspiring.
“But since then we’ve had so much back luck against them”.
Based on each side’s start to the tournament, goals would seem likely in this one with both possessing plenty of in-form attacking players.
There are no games on Friday but we are back with the business end of the Russian Federation 2018 World Cup on Saturday.
Sunday’s record 6-1 win against Panama will go down in England World Cup history but we do have to be careful.
“What I’ve discussed with the players is we must not waste any energy thinking whether it’s better to be first or second in the group, who we might play in future rounds”, the England manager said in an interview with FIFA TV.
England boss Gareth Southgate was more pragmatic, though his words could later be seen as naïve should a beaten Belgium breeze through to the final.
“He is always a big part of our plans”, Southgate said.
But a senior United Kingdom official said they could “make her aware” of the score “if needs be”.
John Stones scored twice and Jesse Lingard was also on target for England, who play Belgium in their final Group G contest on Thursday in a match to be broadcast on ITV.
While Martinez preferred to keep his cards close to his chest, the Belgium coach maintained his full confidence in every player on his bench, adding that each deserved an opportunity.
But Southgate feels the fact his country last won outside of the group stages at a major tournament in 2006 should override any plotting on the behalf of his youthful and in-form side.
“I don’t think there’s been any focus on the teams we could face in the knockouts”.
“So he just asked me if I could show a yellow”.
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Southgate thinks the stunning exit of the defending champions proves that teams need to continue evolving.
