England have flown off home soil and are headed for Germany as they eye Euro 2024 glory with their efforts beginning this Sunday against Group C opponents Serbia
The England squad have jetted off to Germany as they prepare for their Euro 2024 opener on Sunday – with some words of wisdom from Prince William’s children.
The Three Lions flew off to their Golfresort Weimarer Land base from Birmingham airport off the back of a disappointing night at Wembley on Friday, where they lost to Iceland in their final warm-up outing. All eyes now though will be on their clash with Serbia in Gelsenkirchen.
Jude Bellingham, a late arrival to the squad due to his Champions League commitments with Real Madrid, hasn’t featured in either warm-up game but will be a key cog and joined up with the Three Lions before their flight to mainland Europe.
Before leaving their base at St. George’s Park in Burton, the England squad were joined by Prince William, who chatted with Southgate and handed each player their shirt before departing. He then shared some valuable advice with the assembled players, given to him by son Louis.
He said: “Guys, while I was on the way here, I was thinking what shall I say. And I thought what can I offer as you are all an experienced team here with Gareth and I was thinking what could I say to help before you went away?
“And I was on the school run this morning with the children and I said ‘what shall I say to the England team today’. The best bit of advice I got was to eat twice the amount you would normally eat. And I now have visions of all of you running around with massive tummies and getting stitches on the pitch. So I think take my youngest’s advice with a pinch of salt!”
Gareth Southgate’s future beyond the Euros remains unclear but he will be hoping to further his own legacy with victory in Germany. England go in among the tournament favourites as they bid to end their 58-year wait for tournament success, which dates back to 1966.
England made the final of the last Euros, eventually losing to Italy in a penalty shootout at Wembley. In the last World Cup they were knocked in the last eight at the hands of France, who are set to be a semi-final opponent if both teams top their group and win their respective games en route to a potential final.
Expectations have mounted as a young squad continues to blossom. Southgate boasts Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Bellingham as part of his 26-man squad. Foden and Bellingham were named the respective players of the year in the countries with which they ply their trade whilst Kane enjoyed a stellar year with Bayern Munich.
England have had to deal with some injury setbacks over the past week though. The group that flew from Birmingham didn’t feature Harry Maguire, who has been a stalwart during the Southgate regime.
The Manchester United centre-half couldn’t shake off an injury issue which will cost him his place. John Stones, Marc Guehi and Lewis Dunk are among the options at the heart of dfence. Jack Grealish has also missed out following a below par year on a personal level with Manchester City.
Southgate’s squad does include several new names as the likes of Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen are rewarded for impressive seasons. Both men have regularly been in the goals and assists as they push for a starting berth this weekend. Ivan Toney, Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze are also hoping for their first tournament outings.
Following the clash with Serbia England will head to Frankfurt four days later to face Denmark, who will provide their toughest group test. On June 25 the Three Lions then take on Slovenia in Cologne, which will conclude their group stage efforts.
Southgate has made no secret of the fact his squad are by no means 100 percent healthy. Several players are dealing with niggles but he backed the squad to be in better shape come their Euros opener and believes they can improve considerably on their Iceland defeat.
He said on Friday: “The physical side is a slight concern, we’ve got so many physical issues, but as I said we needed to get players out of the game on a precautionary level as well. That part of it will be better for next Sunday.
“We’re focusing on all aspects, really, but we can’t hide the fact we have got a lot of physical issues, it’s plain for everyone to see. Nevertheless, we can be better than we were tonight and we have to be more compact, press better, and then take the chances we created.”
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