Published 10 October 2022 4 min read
England Men's Senior Team
Gareth Southgate ready for 'jeopardy' of new EURO qualifiers
The Three Lions have been drawn out with Italy, Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta in EURO qualifying group
Gareth Southgate is looking forward to kick-starting a new EURO qualifying campaign next year, after learning his team’s rivals at Sunday’s draw in Frankfurt.
England were drawn out as a second seed nation in Group C, pitting them against Italy, Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta in the race to reach UEFA EURO 2024 Finals in Germany.
And there’s some familiar names in there, with North Macedonia being the only nation in the group that the manager hasn’t faced previously at senior level.
"It's a tough group but we knew being in pot two that could be the case,” said Southgate after the draw.
"There are teams we've played recently, in the last EUROs we played Italy and Ukraine and both teams have high quality and are difficult games for us.
"But it actually makes the qualification more interesting, there's a bit more jeopardy than in the past which is good for the competition I think.”
Southgate and his squad will be in tournament action next month at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, so all focus is currently set on that.
But the new EURO campaign won’t be far behind and will begin in the subsequent international window of March 2023.
"At the moment, we're thinking about the World Cup,” he added.
“But there's a lot of players who are young and for them to be in the EUROs in two years is a big opportunity.
"So the motivation will be really high and to qualify will be a real test and we'll have to be at our very best.”
England were drawn out as a second seed nation in Group C, pitting them against Italy, Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta in the race to reach UEFA EURO 2024 Finals in Germany.
And there’s some familiar names in there, with North Macedonia being the only nation in the group that the manager hasn’t faced previously at senior level.
"It's a tough group but we knew being in pot two that could be the case,” said Southgate after the draw.
"There are teams we've played recently, in the last EUROs we played Italy and Ukraine and both teams have high quality and are difficult games for us.
"But it actually makes the qualification more interesting, there's a bit more jeopardy than in the past which is good for the competition I think.”
Here's Gareth Southgate's reaction to the #ThreeLions' #EURO2024 qualification group 💬 pic.twitter.com/xFwvdgr3yJ
— England (@England) October 9, 2022
Southgate and his squad will be in tournament action next month at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, so all focus is currently set on that.
But the new EURO campaign won’t be far behind and will begin in the subsequent international window of March 2023.
"At the moment, we're thinking about the World Cup,” he added.
“But there's a lot of players who are young and for them to be in the EUROs in two years is a big opportunity.
"So the motivation will be really high and to qualify will be a real test and we'll have to be at our very best.”