Gareth Southgate is delighted that England will play at Newcastle United’s stadium next week.
He has picked a provisional 33-man team for the Euros this summer, which includes two Newcastle United players: Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier.
They will both be aiming to play on Monday, when the Three Lions meet Bosnia and Herzegovina in a friendly at St James’ Park.
It will be the first time the national team has competed on Tyneside since 2005, and it promises to be a memorable night, with a couple of current Toon players aiming to feature. They both reported for international duty at England’s headquarters in Middlesbrough, with Trippier returning from Australia and Gordon recovering from an ankle injury.
They will want to prove their worth to Southgate in front of their club fans, but the England manager has cautioned them that St James’ Park will not only be filled with Toon Army members.
Gareth Southgate looks forward to England competing at St James’ Park
Following the commencement of England’s pre-Euro 2024 training camp, Southgate spoke with the Three Lions’ official YouTube channel about the upcoming friendly matches.
He was asked about playing Bosnia and Herzegovina in front of a ‘passionate crowd’ in the Northeast.
“Bringing the team on the road is something that we’ve enjoyed doing,” he said.
“Of course, to play at Wembley for your country is very special, so you never want to lose that aspect. We’ve got a nice contrast this week of being able to do both things.
“But we’re England. We represent everybody. I’ve obviously played in the North East and know how passionate people are here about their football. Newcastle, with the last couple of seasons they’ve had and the momentum behind them, but there’ll be a lot of Sunderland fans up there and Middlesbrough fans.
“It will be a brilliant night. Really looking forward to that.”
It’s been a while since Sunderland fans were spotted inside Newcastle United’s home
Sunderland fans last visited St James’ Park in March 2016, when Aleksandar Mitrovic scored an 83rd-minute equaliser to save a point for Rafa Benitez’s Magpies.
Since since, the North East rivals have only met once, earlier this year at the Stadium of Light. Newcastle won the FA Cup match 3-0, with Alexander Isak scoring twice – just in case you forgot.
But Southgate is correct; there will most likely be Sunderland supporters in attendance on Monday night. After all, this is an international game.
It will be interesting to see how many people attend if Jordan Pickford plays, as he is always met with hostility from Newcastle fans when Everton visits Tyneside. If there are cheers inside St James’ Park when he touches the ball, it means the Mackems are in town.
Hopefully, it does not cause any problems in the stands, with everyone’s primary goal being to support England ahead of Euro 2024 in Germany.
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