England coach Gareth Southgate has high expectations, including bringing a first European Football Championship title to the Island. This prompted the manager to speak to the leaders in the team to help the youngsters deal with the pressure. Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham will be responsible for leading the team, which includes several players without tournament experience.
"There is a different dynamic in this group with a lot of younger players. I don't want to miss anything. Players have good vision. Bellingham perhaps carries the highest expectations after his remarkable debut season at Real Madrid. From my point of view, he is a young player and one of a number of very important players in the Real Madrid team. In this team, this workload is distributed. He has a fantastic mindset and ability to adapt. He is doing so well at such a young age. Jude moved to the biggest club in the world. It's great to have the talented players we have, but everyone has to fulfill their part of the responsibility," added Gareth Sitegate.
The pressure is a privilege, says experienced striker Harry Kane, who captains the England team. "Each tournament sets different expectations, but we have earned the right to be ranked as one of the favorites," said the Bayern Munich player.
"We know we have done many things well and made the country proud with good tournaments. We are here to win, and there will be nothing better than to bring that joy to the nation," Kane added.
Coach Gareth Southgate also commented that everyone is available for the first leg, including defender Luke Shaw, who has not played since February due to injury.
England are not taking Serbia lightly, Southgate assured, despite the Serbs conceding eight goals in three games in early exit from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
"It will be very difficult for us. They have good individual players, fantastic collective spirit. Dangerous attackers," said the 53-year-old specialist.