Southgate: “They refused to vaccinate players in March”

At the gates of the momentous match against the Czech Republic, with which England the first place in group D is played, Gareth southgate He has appeared before the media and assured that an investigation has been opened to find out more about Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell's contact with Billy Gilmour, who has tested positive for coronavirus. What's more, has assured that they rejected his request to vaccinate the players in March, something, in his view, understandable because the most vulnerable people needed it, but that could have been taken into account now. However, remember, “the vaccine does not prevent positives, only severe symptoms.”

-What happened to these players?

– “We do not know anything, there is doubt, but we have to investigate what happened. They are isolating themselves and we hope to find more answers in the next 12 hours.”

-Can Kane stop being a starter in any situation?

– “The only thing that matters is the weight he has in the team. He has had it for a long time. There will be times when he is better and times when he is less well, but he has been our top scorer consistently for a long time. “.

-How has that bubble been broken in Scotland and how can that be applied to England?

– “We are all trying to apply these Covid protocols to the fullest. We do what we can.”

-Importance of winning all matches

– “There will be teams that get it, but the important thing is to qualify. It is also important that there are players who now know how important it is to play a game against Scotland. Tomorrow we will play against a different team, a team that is also very competitive with a coach who is doing a wonderful job. “

-Is it necessary to vaccinate the players?

– “We do PCR, all those who ask us. Regarding vaccines, I refer you to the criticism I received in March for proposing it. The most vulnerable people already have those doses, but, in any case, the vaccine does not prevent a positive , for example”.

-Pressure on Kane

– “I understand what happens to Harry, it is not the same for him as for other players who go under that pressure radar. It is something that is implicit in being a great player.”

-What about Jadon Sancho?

– “That we have many very good players in attack. We have fantastic players in that area. If you didn't ask me about Jadon, you would ask me about any of the others.”

-Why was the vaccine rejected?

– “I was not involved in the negotiations. Taking into account that we were asked to come to a tournament like this and then go back to our families, I think we had a greater risk of catching the virus than other people. I already have both vaccines, but that only makes the variants less harmful. Now I don't know if it makes sense for a positive to rule you out of a game, we have to learn to live with the coronavirus as we have done with the flu. In any case, we need more information “.

-Necessary rotations

– “We had a tactical problem to break the Scottish defense, it is something we have done on other occasions, but due to their merit we could not. We have players who have not played yet, due to injuries, for example, but I am not worried about them” .

-How does this isolation affect you?

– “We have worked with them this morning before knowing what happened. We do not know if they will be available tomorrow or in ten days, so I do not know how it will affect us. We still do not have the team decided, we will do it tomorrow.”

-Why do they only isolate themselves and not more players?

I don't know all the details, but it clearly has nothing to do with being on the pitch together. It remains for us alone to adapt to the situation that touches us.

-A year later we continue with the same problems

– “The coaches have accepted these problems, for the players it is a bigger problem. Everyone is being affected by this situation, not only in football sincerely. People have difficulties making money and many lives have also been lost. . It is up to us to adapt. “

-Maguire or Henderson can return

– “They have both returned to training and will play tomorrow, but they have had different injuries. Still, they have had a tremendous impact on our training so far. It is time for them to take to the field and can play a great role in the tournament.”

-Who can lead if not Kane?

– “Harry is going to play very well, I don't care about that at all. Rashford can do very well, he's a great striker, but I think everyone here understands who is the best '9' on the team.”