Euro 2020: England boss dismisses talk of resting players amidst fear of suspensions

England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed he will not look to rest players who are on a yellow card for the clash against Ukraine.

The Three Lions will square off against Ukraine in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 later today. Several pundits and managers have called for Southgate to rest the players who risk suspension.

The quartet of Phil Foden, Declan Rice, Kalvin Phillips and Harry Maguire are one booking away from missing the semi-final should England make it to that stage.

"We’ve got to try and create our own intensity on the pitch."@JHenderson knows the #ThreeLions will have to be at their best against Ukraine tomorrow night:

— England (@England) July 2, 2021

When asked whether he would rest players who already have a booking to their name, Southgate said:

“I don’t really understand that rationale. I understand that strategically you might like to do that but I can’t think of a country in the world that would do that for a quarter-final, especially a country that’s only been to three semi-finals in its history."

“No, I think we’ve got to focus on tomorrow. I think it would be a big error to be thinking about anything else and I think it would be an insult to Ukraine as well."

He added:

“So we won’t make any decisions based on yellow cards. We did in the last group game because we knew we had qualified and we had the opportunity to protect Phil in that game as we weren’t sure what was going to happen further on. But now we play to win and we’ve got to have everybody available.”

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England face an acid test in the form of Ukraine in the Euro 2020 quarter-final

Although England have been handed a favorable draw, they can ill-afford to take Ukraine lightly.

Under Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine have been the surprise package at Euro 2020 so far.

Touching down in Rome! 🛬 pic.twitter.com/GtHKxGTyD4

— England (@England) July 2, 2021

England played pragmatic football against Germany and did enough in the second half to seal a place in the quarter-finals. However, it remains to be seen how they will approach the game against Ukraine.

Gareth Southgate’s side might play more proactive football against Ukraine. They will hope to avoid any mistakes as Ukraine have often pounced on their opponents' errors in the tournament so far.

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