Gareth Southgate urges England to get revenge on Australia for Ashes defeat

12 October 2023 , 21:30

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Gareth Southgate urges England to get revenge on Australia for Ashes defeat

Gareth Southgate has given England’s players a rallying cry to get revenge on the Aussies for last summer’s Ashes.

Cricket fan Southgate also recalled how Australia beat England 3-1 in a friendly at Upton Park 20 years ago and his squad will be fired up for Wembley on Friday night.

Southgate said: “I think we’ve talked to the players about the England-Australia sporting rivalry and we know what that means. I played with a lot of Aussies and when they beat us at Upton Park they were pretty quick to come back to Middlesbrough and Mark Schwarzer had a blow up kangaroo under his arm and he was making hay with it all. There’s plenty of rivalry going on.

“I think it is a genuine sporting rivalry and I suppose I keep having to say to our players before these games ‘Look lads, this another country that doesn’t particularly like us, so get prepared for that, they want to make hay and beat us’. They’ll be highly motivated.”

Aussie boss Graham Arnold was assistant coach 20 years ago and has a good relationship with Southgate but Arnold has recalled this week how England changing their whole team at half time fired them up because they saw it as disrespectful.

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Southgate said: “I know Graham Arnold well. He’s a brilliant guy. I’ve really enjoyed my interactions with him. I’ve read his stories about the game at Upton Park and how that motivated them.

“His team work incredibly hard. They’re an athletic team, they’ve had really good performances, so it’s going to be a really good test. We’ve got to be ready.”

Southgate is planning to ring the changes in his squad but sees it as a chance for a few fringe players to really stake their claim in what has now become a settled England line-up.

England boss Southgate said: “Again, we want to see as many of the squad as we can this week. We need to give people opportunities. We have six matches before we name a squad in all likelihood for a European Championship.

“And so if people are going to have the chance to force their way into that squad, or that team, we need to play them. And also when you are keeping a squad and a spirit of a squad together people need the chance to play to really feel part of that. It is an important night for a lot of players, they will recognise that.”

John Cross