Gareth Southgate admits England having 24 hours less recovery time than Italy is a ‘disadvantage’ and may affect his team’s tilt at glory ahead of Euro 2020 final – but Three Lions boss also insists ‘we have to find the best way of dealing with that’
Gareth Southgate fears having 24 hours less recovery time than Italy ahead of Sunday’s European Championship final could leave his team at a disadvantage in their tilt at glory.
The two nations will clash at Wembley on Sunday night at 8pm in England’s first major tournament final for 55 years.
But Southgate is concerned his team will be hampered by having a day less to prepare than the Italians following the 2-1 extra-time win over Denmark on Wednesday night.
Gareth Southgate fears England having less recovery time than Italy may damage his team
Roberto Mancini’s team defeated Spain via penalties on Tuesday night in their semi-final.
‘It is definitely a bit of a disadvantage but we have to find the best way of dealing with that,’ said Southgate.
‘I think the biggest thing is psychological fatigue. The players are fit and we’re very professional. We don’t overload the players, we’ve been conscious of that going back years.
England had sealed their spot in the Euro 2020 final after beating Denmark 2-1 in extra-time
‘When they are with us, we can’t improve them physically so we don’t overtrain and we keep that freshness.
‘We have minimal injuries in our camps – muscular injuries are very rare.
But psychological freshness is the key. You can talk about fatigue, you can talk about the season, but to get the physical training right and psychological freshness right is key to creating the energy that is needed.’
Southgate and his medical staff have been assessing the squad following the gruelling win over Denmark ahead of Friday’s first full training session ahead of the final.
Italy have had one day extra to prepare for Sunday’s showdown after their victory over Spain
And providing his players have come through largely unscathed, Southgate is unlikely to make many changes from the team that started against the Danes.
Southgate has rotated one of his four forwards throughout the tournament with Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all starting games on the right flank.
Foden faced Croatia and Scotland but was replaced by Saka against the Czech Republic and Germany.
Sancho came in against Ukraine but Saka was back for Denmark. Foden impressed after coming on as a late substitute against the Danes and could come into contention again.