Gareth Southgate pays tribute to West Brom star Sam Johnstone after England beat Ukraine
England manager Gareth Southgate had some warm words of praise for West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone after Saturday’s win over Ukraine.
The Three Lions thrashed their opponents 4-0 in Rome to book their place in Wednesday night’s Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark at Wembley.
Albion shot-stopper Johnstone was an unused substitute on Saturday, as he has been for all five games at the tournament so far, but Southgate was quick to highlight the roles that the 28-year-old and three of his teammates have been playing.
Southgate told BBC One [03/07/21] after the Ukraine game: “It’s a strange feeling, at the moment I’m just thinking about the boys we didn’t get on the pitch because the likes of Conor Coady, Ben Chilwell, Sam Johnstone and Aaron Ramsdale, they are the ones that are making this team successful because the spirit of the group is phenomenal.
“The squad mentality has been fantastic so at the moment that’s uppermost in my mind, looking after those guys.”
Dependable
It can’t be the easiest of jobs for Johnstone, going into every training session knowing that he has almost zero chance of featuring in the tournament, but it’s great to hear an Albion player still managing to make such a key contribution to the national cause.
Football fever has been brewing in England over the last few weeks, and it has started to whip up into a frenzy.
Household names like Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish have been earning widespread acclaim for their play during the tournament, but the ever-grounded Southgate is still desperate to recognise those less-heralded assets, such as Johnstone.
It’s a clever move to keep everyone on board and unified ahead of a crunch week which could see the team crowned European champions by the end of it.
After such a stellar season for the Albion that ultimately went unrewarded after our relegation to the Championship, it would be great to see Johnstone pick up such a prestigious honour and take his medal home to The Hawthorns.
In other West Brom news, Albion forward issues major announcement over his future after nightmare 2020/21 season.
Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook and Twitter or 24/7 updates on the Baggies and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Phillips.