Former Chelsea and Arsenal defender William Gallas has delivered a withering verdict on England’s Euro 2024 chances, insisting that no one in France should be worried about the prospect of meeting the Three Lions in the final.
Didier Deschamps’ side take on Spain on Tuesday night for a place in the Euro 2024 final, while England face Netherlands in Wednesday evening’s second semi-final.
England and France began the tournament as the bookies’ two favourites for the crown, but both have flattered to deceive in Germany, with no French player having scored from open play at the tournament, while England have needed a stoppage-time equaliser and a penalty shootout to progress to the final four.
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But should the two sides meet in Sunday’s final, Gallas, who won 84 caps for France, has been quick to dismiss the Three Lions hopes of ending 58 years of hurt.
“Why would anyone in France be worried about England?,” he told Lord Ping, laughing. “Seriously. If the final is played between France and England, then France will be the favourite.
“I would give France a 60% chance of winning the game. I am being kind to England by giving them a 40% chance because I spent most of my career playing there [laughs].”
Gallas, who won two Premier Leagues with Chelsea, added that he is surprised England made it this far.
“I will be honest with you,” he continued. “I didn't expect England to qualify for the semi-final. I tipped Switzerland to win against England, so I got that one wrong. It's good that England has qualified for the semi-final.
“I love the English fans – they are amazing. The game against Holland will be very interesting. I really couldn’t pick a winner between the two nations. I hope that England can beat Holland, but they have a habit of letting you down, especially if you declare your support for them.
“For the sake of the English fans, I won’t give a prediction because I don’t want to jinx it. After England’s performances, nobody expected them to get to this stage of the tournament, but here they are.
England have toiled at times during the tournament and Gallas believes that Gareth Southgate should hand Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer a bigger role.
“I think Gareth Southgate’s reluctance to play Cole Palmer is the one decision that I would challenge him on. After the second game in the group, England were so poor against Denmark, and he still didn’t see any action.
“I couldn’t believe it because England were crying out for something a bit different. Against Slovenia, Palmer was given some minutes. When you look at the players that Southgate has picked, he’s tried to put in his best players, and it has looked like he has hoped that things would come together naturally rather than developing a plan – it’s almost like he expects the players to work it out for themselves.
“He’s been reluctant to take off his big names and make changes, even when they have been performing badly. I’m sure he has had a lot of his decisions questioned by the fans and the media throughout this tournament, but right now what can you say to him?
“He’s taken his team to the semi-finals. He’s done his job. Have England been lucky to get this far? I think things could have been a lot more difficult for them.”
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