James Ward-Prowse believes England can take advantage of the “dark side” of the attack; the midfielder insists he killed time instead of meddling at the penalty spot in Iceland.
Three and a half years after his debut, the 25-year-old made his first outing for the Three Lions in the unconvincing 1-0 Nations victory in Reykjavik, where Gareth Southgate’s men almost miss the victory.
Joe Gomez kicked in the past moments after Raheem Sterling scored at each other end, with England breathing a collective sigh of relief when Birkir Bjarnason shone on Jordan Pickford’s goal.
Replays gave the impression that Ward-Prowse had approached the penalty spot before he got stuck and former Manchester United captain Roy Keane said he was “cheating,” but Southampton captain denied doing so.
“It’s not about digging the place, it’s more about delaying the penalty,” he said. “It’s a little far-fetched for everyone.
“We had clearly scored what we thought was the winning goal, and then we faced the penalty, so it was a more delaying tactic for everyone to concentrate and be in a penalty position. Fortunately, it was in our favor. “
But even if Ward-Prowse didn’t adjust the place, slowing down the setting at such an important time shows the kind of street nature that was so lacking in English groups in recent years.
“It wasn’t done that way, ” said the midfielder, who denied having the penalty point.
“There are safe scenarios in a game where you are where you have to leave the stage and see what is most productive at that time. That’s all we’ve used at club level.
“Maybe we had a reputation for being too big and we had to show a little more aggression and a little bit of that darker look to win matches. I think it’s anything I learned along the way. “
In fact, there has been a radical replacement at Ward-Prowse since Ralph Hasenhuttl appointed Southampton’s boss in December 2018.
He was left out of the Austrian first team as coach, the 25-year-old has not only recovered as a starter, but has since been appointed captain of the Saints.
“I think he showed me aspects of my game that didn’t suit his taste for the game and we had a verbal exchange right about him, without me being more competitive and more opposed to the ball,” Ward-Prowse said.
“I love the way he played, I sought to be a part of him and I knew I had to go and paint hard. This aspect of the game has come into play.
“I think with Southampton, other people think, ” you know, it’s a great club. It’s a club from a circle of relatives,” but I think we’ve done well recently by adding another team to our game. I think we like to play against. “
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