Published 02 June 2021 4 min read
England Men's Senior Team
Gareth assesses Austria win
England boss Gareth Southgate was left with plenty to think about after seeing his side beat Austria in their first EURO 2020 warm-up.
It took a second-half goal from Bukayo Saka to earn victory for the Three Lions in Middlesbrough and the manager was pleased with the test his players received against a side who will also be featuring in this summer’s tournament.
“I thought we started well,” he said.
“We used the ball well in the first hour or so but we were playing against a very good team who have qualified with some very good players.
“[David] Alaba, [Marcel] Sabitzer, they get in between the lines well so I thought the first hour was good in terms of the quality but after that we needed to make a lot of changes.
“We needed to preserve people and we got a bit disjointed, a couple getting cramp, so we were hanging on in the end but I think it was understandable given all the changes we had to make.”
One major talking point came in the later stages of the game when Trent Alexander-Arnold limped off after appearing to pick up an injury while making a clearance.
But with eleven days to go until their EURO opener against Croatia, Southgate revealed they won’t know the full extent of the Liverpool man’s injury straight away.
"We’re going to have a look, it’s obviously not good to see him come off in the way he did so we’ll just have to assess him over the next 24 hours,” he added.
“The medical team are still assessing it so we just have to see.”
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One of the stand out performers in the win was Jack Grealish, who put in a lively display and played a crucial part in Saka’s winning goal.
And the Aston Villa man was happy to get some minutes under his belt after his recent return to action, following a shin issue in recent weeks.
“It’s been a great few days, obviously being announced in the final squad was what I’ve worked for all season and I’ve not shied away from saying that,” said Grealish, who was seen icing his leg after coming off in the second half.
“That was my aim through the whole season, as soon as I got into the first squad in September, and then obviously I’ve had an injury recently so to get 70 minutes under my belt was perfect.
“It’s just stress on my shin, it’s like a different type of injury. I’m not concerned, I’m obviously still aware of it a little bit so I need to keep on top of it.
“I have to do whatever I can to heal it after I play in these games and that’s why I had the ice on.
“It was hard of course but you can’t knock Austria, they’re a very good team. They have got players in the Bundesliga, top, top players as well.
“And then you have to bear in mind we’ve still got seven or eight players still to come back and top, top players as well.
“It was a good test for us and another win under our belt.”