Graeme Le Saux on England friendlies: Experience is more important than the result

Graeme Le Saux
09 November 2017

Graeme Le Saux believes England's young side can emerge on top against Germany

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Betfair Ambassador Graeme Le Saux gives his verdict on England's clash with old rivals Germany on Friday as well as a look ahead to their game against Brazil next week...

"As we come out of both these friendlies, the most important thing for the manager will not be the results but the list of questions that he has. Questions that will help to shape the squad as we get closer to the World Cup."

Obviously the squad for these friendlies is something of a mixed bag when it comes to combining players like Joe Hart and Eric Dier who have been there and done it alongside new faces like Jack Cork, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham.

The good news for Gareth is that he has experience through the spine of the team that he can build around. And while I don't disagree with what Michael Ballack said in his Betfair column this week regarding our need for another Paul Scholes-esque creative midfielder; I do believe Harry Winks could be that player. He obviously has a long way to go but could well develop into the style of player that Scholes mastered providing he gets enough of an opportunity to do so at Spurs.

That highlights a key point that the manager has made previously when he said that English players currently have - in some cases - more of a chance to play for their country than they do for their clubs. It shows just how competitive club football has become and how the landscape of winning a place in the England squad has changed. With that comes a huge amount of media pressure on these younger players, with some perhaps branded with the 'they haven't earned their opportunity' tag. Those players need to remember that it's not what comes before, it's about whether they justified it afterwards.

This German side are almost in a similar position to England, balancing experience with youth but what they do possess is quality throughout the pitch. Sane has been in phenomenal form for Manchester City, Tony Kroos will always be their metronome and whilst the jury is out on Mesut Ozil at Arsenal, he consistently performs in the national team.

Of the youngsters, I've been impressed with Hoffenheim's Sandro Wagner who netted twice last week in the Bundesliga. I expect their younger players have already bought into the strong identity that German football possesses; and I've long been of the opinion that they have a much more joined approach between their clubs and National teams compared with our own.

In terms of the 'rivalry' between the two sides, of course there's a huge amount of pride at stake when it comes to England v Germany and in that respect it's a great game for these young players to gain experience in. In fact I played my final international game against the Germans in a 1-0 defeat, the last game to be played at the old Wembley. I remember feeling so disappointed at the final whistle as it was a really tight game that subsequently resulted in Kevin Keegan's resignation.

I did however have a much more positive experience - at least for the first half - when lining up against England's opponents on Tuesday night, Brazil.

Despite coming up against the likes of Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo that day, as a professional you can't get carried away with who you're playing against. For this England squad it's another opportunity for them to match up against a completely different challenge ahead of the World Cup. South American sides tend to play with a higher tempo, a different system and present a very different challenge.

As we come out of both these friendlies, the most important thing for the manager will not be the results but the list of questions that he has. Questions that will help to shape the squad as we get closer to the World Cup.

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England to win 2-1 v Germany @ 12/1 (Betfair Sportsbook)
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