Gareth Southgate trains with England stars ahead of Malta game – but don’t let him near the penalties

Oct 07, 2016

GARETH SOUTHGATE got stuck in on the training ground with his England players – but can somebody make sure he goes nowhere near penalties.

Southgate was all smiles as he enjoyed a kickabout with his players in the final build-up to his first match in charge against Malta.

The former England defender couldn’t resist getting involved in some possession and passing drills as he rolled back the years to his playing career.

But thankfully there was no sign of the new Three Lions manager trying to suggest an extra session working on penalty taking.

Instead he settled for mixing it with Wayne Rooney, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jordan Henderson at St George’s Park.

Southgate will forever be remembered as the man who saw his weak spot-kick saved in the Euro 96 semi-final against Germany.

He even ended up starring in a pizza advert wearing a brown paper bag over his face as a result of his nightmare moment.

But times have changed for the 46-year-old who has now landed the plum job as England boss following the sacking of Sam Allardyce last month.

He begins his initial four-game stint in charge with a World Cup qualifier against Malta at Wembley on Saturday.

Next up is the trip to Slovenia on Tuesday before a crunch qualifier against British rivals Scotland and a friendly with Spain.

But his first squad has been stripped of several players through injury with Everton defender Phil Jagielka the latest to pull out with a thigh strain.

And since they reported for the training camp, defender Glen Johnson and Raheem Sterling have also been forced to withdraw through injury.

Leave a comment