There’s a real sense of optimism in the English game at the moment, with the national side making the semi-finals of the last World Cup and looking far more progressive under Gareth Southgate.
They were at it again last night, scoring five goals for the second successive Euro 2020 qualifier, beating Montenegro 5-1 after thrashing the Czech Republic 5-0 on Friday.
BBC pundit Gary Lineker posted a message on Twitter hailing the current England heroes, but said the side would be even better in the future.
He name-checked young Leeds attacker Jack Clarke, among other youngsters that he sees as being the future of the England team, including Phil Foden, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell.
Lineker posted the message on his personal Twitter account after the game on Monday night.
England are good. Will be better. Some have been around for a while…Sterling, Kane, Stones, Maguire, Walker, Trippier, Rashford….then there’s Alexander-Arnold, Foden, Hudson-Odoi, Gomez, Sancho, Rice, Nelson, Longstaff, Gibbs-White, Clarke, Chilwell, Greenwood. I could go on
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) March 25, 2019
OPINION
It’s fun watching England again! It seems strange to type that after years of awful football. It’s not long ago that England would really struggle against teams like Montenegro way from home. Now, Southgate has introduced exciting young players like Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi into the side, the latter before he’s even had a start for Chelsea this season. That shows how rotten the game is at the top of the Premier League. And it’s why Sancho had to move abroad to start playing regularly. Leeds are doing things differently and the synergy between the senior team and the Under-23s is real. Jack Clarke made the breakthrough this year but he’s missed a big chunk of the season through a virus. That makes it even more remarkable that he’s getting name-checked by Lineker in relation to the future of the England team. What an honour for him to be mentioned alongside players like this. And when you look through those names it will make even the most jaded England fan excited about our prospects over the next 5-10 years.