World Cup

Lothar Matthaus: 'Russia World Cup coming too soon for England'

By Giuseppe Labellarte, Reporter | 25 March 2018

Matthaus: 'World Cup too soon for England'

Former Germany international and 1990 World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus believes that Russia 2018 has come too soon for an England side in transition.

Former Germany international Lothar Matthaus has claimed that the World Cup in Russia has come too soon for a young England side.

The Three Lions have enjoyed success at youth level over the last 12 months, winning the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups.

In addition, the last two Toulon tournaments have gone England's way, as well as the Under-19 European Championships.

However, 1990 World Cup winner Matthaus believes that, although the future is bright for Gareth Southgate's side, the players need more time to develop.

"I like the English team, there's a lot of good young players," Matthaus told Sky Sports News. "Good results in the Under-21s, Under-20s, Under-19s, and I think this helped a lot.

"The same with good coaches in the Premier League, like [Pep] Guardiola, like [Jurgen] Klopp. I think young players can profit from these kind of coaches with high quality and a lot of experience.

"[But] they need time. This World Cup is too early for this English team. But I feel in four years something can happen with English football. It's the same at international level, not only the club teams."

England begin their World Cup campaign on June 18 against Tunisia, before taking on Panama on June 24 and Belgium four days later.