Southgate vows Wales clash ‘will be a cracker’

Southgate previews England's World Cup clash with Wales

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The Three Lions coach insisted both sides had everything to play for as they fight for a place in the Qatar tournament’s final stages.

Both teams go into the clash at Doha’s Ahmad bin Ali stadium after poor results – England drew 0-0 against the USA and Wales were beaten 2-0 by Iran.

Southgate’s men are top of qualifying Group B, and just one point will be enough to see them through to the last 16.

But Rob Page’s Dragons must win and hope that the result of Iran versus the USA goes Wales’s way too.

As his team were put through a further training session, the England boss, inset below, said: “There will be a lot of supporters there and it is going to be a cracking atmosphere. We want to win football matches but we’ve got to balance freshness with stability.”

He added: “We’ve got a chance to win the group with a positive result and there’s a lot for both teams resting on the game. Our performance is the key.”

On the rivalry of the neighbouring nations, Southgate said: “They’re here and we are here – it’s like any two countries whose borders are next to each other. There’s a competive rivalry and for me it is a great sporting rivalry – it’s no more than that – but that might be mutual.

“But I can understand that as well because I live in Yorkshire and they feel the same about the rest of England. It’s going to be a fantastic atmosphere in the stadium.”

The coach said all of his players are fit and raring to go in a game which should secure England a knockout tie against the Netherlands or Senegal.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson told his fellow Three Lions: “Our motivation is to win games and do our talking on the pitch and focus on the game and what we have to do – and that is what we are going to do.”

A video of Wales players celebrating England’s shock Euro 2016 defeat by Iceland also stoked the flames ahead of tonight’s clash.

But Henderson added: “For me, we don’t need extra motivation. The motivation is to win games, and we’ll do our stuff on the pitch.”

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