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Gareth Southgate raises England worry as boss faces Netherlands team selection dilemma
The England boss is conscious of fatigue ahead of the Euro 2024 semi-final against Netherlands, one of the most important games of his Three Lions reign.
Gareth Southgate fears his jaded England squad could suffer from the effects of a draining Euro 2024 tournament ahead of their semi-final showdown with the Netherlands on Wednesday. England have been forced to play 120 minutes in consecutive knockout matches in Germany after seeing off Slovakia 2-1 after extra-time and edging out Switzerland in a dramatic penalty shootout.
Their opponents, meanwhile, have managed to secure their progress within the regulation 90 minutes on both occasions. Ronald Koeman's men beat Romania 3-0 in the round of 16 game and overcame Turkey 2-1 last time out in the quarter-finals, resulting in less energy spent on the pitch.
The Three Lions boss has been hesitant in making changes to his side, despite some sub-par performances from key players - with Harry Kane the latest player facing calls to be dropped.
But Southgate has admitted that he may be forced into making some tough decisions to keep his players as fresh as possible, as he opened up on his medical team's methods of helping players recover during the tournament.
“It’s always a consideration on picking the team, managing the squad. Recovery strategies now are outstanding. There’s so much science involved in recovering players," Southgate told reporters in Germany.
“But things will happen over the next five-six days for all of the teams involved where people might start games and get an early injury because you’re not able to train as fully as you might to assess all the players."
Southgate, who is likely to recall Marc Guehi to replace Ezri Konsa in defence following his one-game suspension, has opted to use Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze, Ivan Toney and Conor Gallagher in rotational roles from the bench to ease concerns of burnout.
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Having coached England to the semi-finals before at the 2018 World Cup and the final of Euro 2020, Southgate says he is fully prepared to utilise members of his squad who haven't had a chance to impress.
“Squads are going to be important, all of the games of the latter stages are quick turnarounds and we’ve learned from going the distance in two tournaments already the physical demands on these tournaments are really high," he added.
“It’s been factored into all our operations for the last few years. For not just managing the day to day but the weeks we’ve been away. Managing staff energy, managing players’ energy.
“We cover all of those things. Because all of the staff need to be fresh as well. They need to make big decisions, they’ve got to work long hours. The travel is a factor. We’re covering all of those basis.”