Gareth Southgate has said that Germany remains England’s benchmark in its quest to become a trophy-winning force in major tournaments ahead of its League of Nations clash in Munich.
England are set to recover from Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Hungary when they face Hansi Flick’s side at the Allianz Arena in their second Group C match on Tuesday evening.
Southgate led England to their first knockout victory over Germany in 55 years when they last faced each other, with a 2-0 win at Wembley last June securing their place in the round of 16 of Euro 2020.
But Southgate still sees Germany as an example for its young team in terms of its pedigree in big tournaments.
“For me, Germany and Brazil remain the benchmark for countries that have won tournaments on a regular and consistent basis,” he said Monday at his pre-match press conference.
“Everyone here will talk about 5-1, but they finished in the World Cup final after that World Cup qualifying campaign.
“You have to respect what they have been and what they are as a country, in football terms. That is the mentality we are trying to create.
“We have to keep trying to get to the final stages of the competition and matches like tomorrow are brilliant for us. It’s exactly the kind of test we need.”
He added: “I think it’s a big step for us. This will be a brilliant test of where we stand at this particular time.
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Gareth Southgate insists his team is always learning game by game
“But it will not define where we are in five months. If we win them tomorrow, that does not mean we will be well in five months. Many things will happen in this period.
“But one of our toughest challenges a couple of years ago for the team was that we had reached a World Cup semi-final, but could we beat the bigger teams?
“Since then, we have won in Spain, we have won in Belgium at Wembley and we have won in Germany. We are starting to get these results and we have to keep trying.”
Southgate have confirmed that James Justin and Fikayo Tomori will not be ready for the game, while Phil Foden will be sidelined after a positive test from Covid, but expects Marc Guehi to be available along with Raheem Sterling.
Stones: beating Germany in Euro 2020 was a big step for us
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The England and Manchester City defender look forward to the League of Nations match against Germany, describing last summer’s Euro Cup victory as a marker for the current national team.
At the press conference, defender John Stones joined the press conference, describing England’s victory over Germany in Euro 2020 as a “big step” for the team.
“It was an amazing stage where we beat them,” he said. “It was a big step, as a team and as a nation, I think, to move forward in that tournament and show ourselves what we are capable of.
“Now we have put a marker where we have to replicate things like that. We have to be consistent when it comes to winning and beating big teams, playing well against them.
“This is the challenge for us as players. We have set the bar.”
Stones also urged his teammates to learn from Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Hungary, adding: “The other day was a big learning curve for us as a team.
“We had an amazing race. That stopped the other day with our first defeat in God knows how many games.
Image: England were beaten 1-0 by Hungary in the opening match of the League of Nations on Saturday
“But it is up to us to recover and show our character and experience.
“What a game to do tomorrow.”
Stones also avoided talking about fatigue among players as they prepare for the second of four League of Nations games after a grueling national season.
“If we could we would play all year,” he said. “Everyone is fighting for their place in the World Cup and trying to play well.”
Southgate echoed Stones’ comments, saying, “The mentality of this group is that they want to push and act well.
“We will manage your load with training and during your match minutes.
“Everyone wants to play tomorrow night, no doubt. There is a lot of motivation in the group.
“I don’t think the long season was the cause of the other day’s result. It’s not easy to stop and then move on. The heat also had a big physical impact.”