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Gareth Southgate praised his “incredible” England squad ahead of their Nations League clash with Hungary at Molineux.
The Three Lions are still winless after three games of their Nations League campaign, losing 1-0 to Hungary in the reverse fixture before draws against Germany and Italy.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of Tuesday’s fixture, Southgate was effusive in his admiration of his team and made clear he sees their development as more than just winning.
“We want to win the game but throughout this period I have different objectives I’m trying to achieve,” he told reporters. “We have players who are fresh and the squad is important.
“There are definitely some things we want and need to see, we have a different tactical challenge tomorrow and lots of teams are finding things difficult against Hungary they’re a good side.
“This group have been incredible, their mentality, their desire to play for England and work every day on the training pitch to get better.
“We’re very fortunate to have a group as dedicated as we have.”
Southgate also confirmed Conor Gallagher will play a part, with the Chelsea man having impressed on loan at Crystal Palace last season.
“The reason he hasn’t played [so far] is just that the teams and formations we have picked haven’t necessarily fit him up to this point,” the England boss clarified. “Also you have to earn your England caps and although we are trying to look at things, everyone has to be patient.
“We think it’s important to have a squad with a great collective mentality which will be huge for the World Cup because we won’t just be handing minutes out to people.
“There is that balance of finding things about people and seeing how they are when they are not in the team and this group are excellent at that.
“They support each other and create an environment where the team is first.”
The England players have previously made it known they intend to make their feelings clear on human rights abuses in Qatar, where they will contest the World Cup later this year, and Southgate outlined the latest conversations being held.
“The players are making a stand every time they speak,” he said. “I was in Qatar for the draw and I met with some workers and had long discussions.
“The FA is doing things and I know Harry [Kane] has had conversations with some other captains because we thought collective standpoints would be important. Countries aren’t trying to outdo each other, they are trying to do something that will help to make a difference.
“There is a lot going on behind the scenes.”
England captain Kane also addressed the lack of goals from the team, having scored just once in their three Nations League games, which was a late penalty in Germany from the Tottenham striker.
“We’ve had goals in different areas over the last few years – set plays and different players getting goals, midfielders,” Kane said.
“In any top team you’ll have a main striker who gets the majority of the goals but I’m sure every lad who puts on an England shirt wants to score and affect the game and get assists – the most important thing is the mentality of having the hunger to get the goals.
“We’ve done that well going into major tournaments but we’re still learning and improving. The boys are eager to score goals and get involved.”
