Kobbie Mainoo insists England’s confidence hasn’t been knocked after their ‘humbling’ defeat against Iceland at Wembley last night.
The Tree Lions were hoping to produce a rousing performance in their final match before they begin their Euro 2024 quest next Sunday against Serbia.
Instead, Gareth Southgate’s side produced a disjointed display that was met with boos at the full-time whistle.
Asked if the pointed response to a dismal defeat had affected the mood in the changing room, teenager Mainoo, who played the full 90 minutes, delivered an emphatic response to the contrary.
He said: ‘Not at all! We know the quality we have in the changing room and now we just have to show the fans we’re good enough and we can compete in Germany.
‘I think going into a tournament after a loss can be a good thing. We’ve got a point to prove now to ourselves really because we know we’re better than that and play a lot better football.
‘It was humbling and we have to come together now. We’ve got a chip on our shoulder and have to come together and have the motivation now to go into that first game and prove a point.
England’s final 26-man squad for Euro 2024
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
Defenders: Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), John Stones (Man City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Man City)
Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Man Utd), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Man City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
‘I think so if we’re not wining we’re learning. Any chance to learn is a good opportunity and better now than in nine days.’
Southgate, meanwhile, admitted it was a far from ideal way to warm-up for a major tournament, but insisted there was no need to panic ahead of England’s opening game in Gelsenkirchen in just over a week’s time.
‘You’d like a good performance, a crowd that’s been entertained and to be leaving on a high,’ Southgate said after the send-off friendly. ‘Clearly the performance wasn’t at the level it needed to be.
‘I think there are some very clear reasons for that, and it actually gives us a chance to really focus the mind because these last games going into tournaments can be a little bit scrappy like that in terms of focus, because players are worried about picking up an injury.
‘The most disappointing part tonight was out of possession, we didn’t press well. We were too stretched.
‘We’ve actually in the last two or three games, in particular, been excellent at that, so that’s the bit that we’ve really got to rectify.
‘With the ball we could have been better, but we still created some very, very good chances. I think the players, or a lot of the players, needed the minutes – players that have been coming back from injury, players that have played a lot but have had a week’s break and are out of that rhythm.
‘Of course, at the end, where you ideally want the experience on the pitch to keep the calm and work your way back into the game, we were needing to take those players off to look after them.
‘Look, a far from ideal night. I’m not going to dress up the disappointment about the performance. But, equally, we have to stay calm because we know what needs to be put right and we’ll work on that between now and the game with Serbia.’
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