England legend Gary Neville has revealed he is ‘really confident’ in this current crop of players, report the Metro.
Neville played in the so-called golden generation of England through the 2000s, with those players, despite being individuals with world-class ability, unable to win any silverware as a collective.
England fans will be desperately hoping that Gareth Southgate’s men can surpass the achievements of their predecessors, whether it be at Euro 2020 or at the World Cup in Qatar next year.
While England have not been entirely convincing through their three Euro 2020 fixtures to date, Neville has clearly been impressed, revealing his confidence in this current side.
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Neville, speaking while appearing as a pundit for ITV, is quoted by the Metro saying:
“I’ve been part of England teams where the group stages have been an emotional rollercoaster, a circus almost.”
“If this was Germany or another country we’d look at them and think, “they look calm and in control”. We don’t think like that because we’re England and we always want more, we want the brilliance.”
“But I feel really confident about this group and I do trust the manager, he knows their capabilities and knows how they can win games. It’s a massive game next week and they’ve got a week to prepare for it. I’m looking forward to it.”
Neville could be accused of looking at this England side through rose-tinted goggles. After all, he did work alongside many of them during his time as part of Roy Hodgson’s coaching setup.
He does have a point, though. England breezed through the group stage, conceding zero goals. They deserve credit for that – and it certainly bodes well going forward.
Roy Keane’s response to Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell having to isolate was BRILLIANT – you can watch the full clip here