England

Gareth Southgate hails "exciting" players coming through England ranks

By Giuseppe Labellarte, Reporter | 12 November 2017

Southgate: 'England have exciting future'

Gareth Southgate believes that England's future could be "exciting" thanks to the blend of technical ability and athleticism coming through the ranks.

Gareth Southgate has claimed that England's future is bright thanks to the blend of technical ability and athleticism coming through the ranks.

The Three Lions put in an impressive performance against Germany in Friday's friendly at Wembley, holding the current world champions to a goalless draw.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek was among the five players to be handed their senior international debuts and the 21-year-old justified his inclusion with a man-of-the-match display.

"My experiences are that the best players want to be here," Southgate told ESPN. "The best players are the best players because they have that hunger and desire to test themselves on the biggest of stages, and with that comes certain pressures and a huge challenge.

"But also we want it to be fun for them. If they play with the ball like they did against Germany, they will enjoy it. We've got to give them belief and we have got to give them time, whether it is me that benefits from that or the next manager.

"The reason I was given the job was that I have an understanding of what is coming through. We've looked at what Germany have done over a period of time and want to establish a pathway for our young players. If we do that, the technical type of player that is coming through our system now and the athletic profile we have got could be really exciting."

England's youth teams have enjoyed a summer of success, winning the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups as well as the Under-19 European Championship.