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Gareth Southgate responds to England being booed off by fans after 1-0 defeat to Iceland

Gareth Southgate responds to England being booed off by fans after the 1-0 defeat to Iceland in the Euro 2024 warm-up.

Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson scored the only goal of the game, with the loss greeted by boos from many fans who were left in the stadium come full time.

Instead it knocked players’ confidence as they trudged off the pitch to the disappointed boos of Three Lions fans – a noise Southgate can only hope doesn’t ring in their ears through until next weekend’s opener.

But the England boss isn’t hiding from what was a shocking performance as he sympathised with the opinions of the boo boys inside Wembley.

“I completely understand [the boos],” he said after the match. “We didn’t play well enough to keep them excited within the game. We had some very, very good chances which normally would be finished and would’ve given a different complexion to the game and affected our opponent’s confidence.

“But that might have also masked some flaws which were apparent tonight. From my perspective, I’ve learned a lot from the game. But I’ve got no qualms with the supporters’ reaction, to have them with you here makes a massive difference but you have to give them enough goalmouth action, play well enough, press and win the ball with intensity – and we didn’t do that tonight. We have to accept the reaction as it was.”

“We know the performance wasn’t good enough but I think we needed the game. So many of the players needed the game.

“There are a lot of players whose minutes we are managing who have had a break since the end of the club season where you are trying to refresh them but they are out of rhythm. It was obviously a disjointed and disappointing performance and we didn’t show enough character.

“Actually I think it is a really good focus for us ahead of the tournament. Everybody is saying we are going to go there and walk through and have no problems and the reality of international football isn’t that. We have got to be far better without the ball than we were today and then we have to show more composure.”

He added: “Across the two games we haven’t had probably our full side out at any one point. It has been strange preparation. We are having to get players off after an hour when you would really be pushing to try and turn the result around.

“It is not perfect but I have been involved in these last matches going into a tournament as a player and inevitably players have one eye on what is coming in terms of some of the early challenges. No excuses on the result, we have to be better than that but there are a lot of things we can put right pretty quickly.

“We didn’t get our pressing right and we were too stretched without the ball. There were questions asked that we weren’t able to answer. No matter how much talent you have with the ball, if your out of possession game isn’t right then it can make it feel like you’ve not got a foothold in the game.

“We will be ready. Obviously tonight hasn’t gone as we hoped but I said to the players at the beginning of this 45-odd days we will spend together, not every day is going to go as we want it. Tonight is one of those but we need to stay very calm.”

This is how Twitter users reacted as Gareth Southgate responds to England being booed off by fans after the 1-0 defeat to Iceland…

@StuartDoris: He programs the team to fear losing the ball. They try to bore opposition into a mistake and if they don’t fold they don’t know how to change it. Quality in our squad 1 shot at home is on his tactics. Why he didn’t take Maddison as he trys dangerous passes but losing ball more

@andrewkelly751: Friendly means nothing.

@steviebe: We seem to have wasted so many years with this manager

@Magman55: Dreadful

@nige_Avalley: Southgate imo is sacrificing these Euros in order to get these younger players ready for the next World Cup. Rather than blooding them in a Qualifying group with less pressure. And tbh it could work. But I can’t see us winning anything in Germany.
JOP

@DavidWilliamsDK: Gareth has taken a huge gamble with leaving good players In their prime at home like Maddison, Grealish, Rashford, then you have no Maguire and Henderson, Philips not picked – on top Sterling, Mount, Sancho, Mason Greenwood, + No Dier, Tomori. That is a lot of experience!!!

@JulioGeordio80: Bloke should of walked after the last tournament, loser

@AndyFoth: Midfield poor Mainoo losing man for goal sluggish Too much passing last third not enough penetration ⚽️

@GeordieCorpse: Disgraceful

@thedadto5: Southgate perfect for the Man U job 🤣🤣🤣🤣

@Michaelc2481: Another half empty stadium

@Samhasopinions: Southgate is the weak link

@DarrenCowa51800: Southgate is absolutely 💩

@isitjustme43: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿h ave regressed, playing boring football like when 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 were managed by Capello.

@SAFC_CallumR: Southgate and them players deserve every boo around that ground tonight. Have people up and down the country following that pitful shite. Embarrassing.

@ryanoneill64: 😂😂 The sooner England start picking players who have the right mentality instead of the right ability the better.

@genietours: Euros winners??? Bollocks says I 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 #ENGICE #euro2024

@MattyyMorris: In Southgate we trust 🤣🤣🤣

@Shibbz_Forest: Football season ends. You and your friends getting hyped for the Euro’s. You predict an England v France final, with England winning it all. Pints in the sun. Dreams coming true. 2 dross performances later, they’re booed off to Iceland and all that hope you had, has gone.

@MCFCTone: An absolutely embarrassing performance again from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 I’m sad but not surprised to say. Southgate said he’d walk if he felt the fans didn’t want him…. The fans who are left booed AGAIN at the end of another dismal performance. Dismal.

@MightyMillers20: Got what we deserved 😂 a true Southgate masterclass

@FHG10VTID: Southgate out

@sac59069: Embarrassing performance from England

@Rich_M_Johnston: Didn’t enjoy that one bit tonight , shame that the biggest excitement of the night for the fans were the paper aeroplanes making it on the pitch from the top tiers of the stands

@IoMJP: Boos at full time of what was nothing more than a training session? Come on @England fans take your head for a wobble. #england 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

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