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'Jadon is in that mix' - Sancho in contention to finally make Euros bow for England, says Southgate
The Three Lions boss says the winger is under consideration for their final Group D game after impressing in training
Gareth Southgate has confirmed Jadon Sancho is in contention to finally make his Euro 2020 bow for England.
Sancho was left out of England's opening Group D win against Croatia and was an unused substitute during their 0-0 draw with Scotland at Wembley on Friday.
Southgate faced some criticism for not bringing on the Borussia Dortmund winger when the Three Lions were chasing a winner against the Scots, but the head coach says he could be in line to feature against the Czech Republic.
What's been said?
"We've got some explosive options and a lot of them are young players and experiencing a big tournament for the first time," Southgate told reporters ahead of Tuesday's game. "So as a coaching staff we are realistic about our expectations of them as individuals.
"Jadon is in that mix. He's trained well the last few days and of course we have got those options and those decisions to make."
Sancho's credentials
Sancho was touted for a key role in England's set-up for the European Championships after another stellar season at Dortmund in which he provided 16 goals and 20 assists in 38 appearances.
The 21-year-old, who helped Dortmund finish fourth in the Bundesliga and win the DFB-Pokal, has 18 caps to date for his country to date, the latest of which saw him turn in an impressive display in a Euros warm-up win against Romania on June 6.
Southgate bemoans lack of preparation time
Southgate went on to express his frustration over having to prepare for the summer tournament without Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford - all of who finished their club seasons late due to European commitments.
"I think a lot of those players we didn't have for the friendlies, so the chemistry is something we didn't have a lot of opportunity to work on," Southgate added.
"We've got to just keep working on that. We know there are some very good players in there, we know they can perform better than they did (against Scotland) and we've got to help them to find that level.
"The important thing is that everyone gets behind the team and the players and they're going to need to feel that support and to feel that warmth. This is a relatively inexperienced group, I think the third least caps in the tournament. Against Scotland, it was a young team so that's a different experience for a lot of them than they've ever faced before.
"They've just about survived it. We want to be better and that's what we're going to work through in the next few days before we play the Czech Republic."
