Once Gareth Southgate felt his England team understood his instructions for Thursday’s match against Denmark, he then attempted to ensure they also knew what the game meant. The staff went through a session on the mindset of the opposition and “what motivations they might have”. That is something Southgate now insists on for every game, as “it’s an important part of psychologically preparing our team” for the “narrative” of any occasion, but it is more distinctive for this one. Denmark are fired up. Their squad are constantly talking about the penalty that was given for England’s 2-1 victory in the Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley, and want to right that “injustice”.
The scorer Harry Kane is of course still there, but the player who was criticised for apparently diving isn’t. Raheem Sterling is one of three of England’s front six from that game who won’t be playing in Frankfurt, as Southgate attempts to get a new chemistry to blend. It still seemed elusive, on the evidence of the 1-0 win over Serbia. The manager said his staff “have challenged everybody to take that next step” in terms of performance in this game.
