Gareth Southgate accused of going 'full LinkedIn' after calling substitutes 'finishers'

England manager Gareth Southgate has come under fire for instilling into his players there will not be substitutes on his bench through the Euros but "finishers".

In an interview with Mail Online, Eberechi Eze insisted that's what those who do not make the starting 11 in any match at the tournament consider themselves as.

It's a concept that was first introduced by the former head coach of England's rugby union team Eddie Jones; it's basically so players feel they have more of an important role at the end of the match if they come off the bench than being upset about not starting.

Eze said: "The players that come onto the pitch, there is a mentality about it, there's a way to go about it."

But Southgate has been ridiculed for this on social media, with one saying the England manager has gone "full LinkedIn".

Others have been posting memes about it too with comparisons being made to podcast host Jake Humphreys.

England kick off their Euros campaign against Serbia on June 16 with further group games against Denmark on June 20 and Slovenia on June 25.

England's path beyond the group stage, if qualification is secured, could prove tricky no matter the outcome.

If they win the group, it's predicted they could face Czechia, Italy and France en route to the final - if they finish second, it's predicted England will face Germany, Spain and Portugal.

England's final warmup games ahead of the Euros ended with a 3-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina and a 1-0 loss at home to Iceland.

The 2024 squad is quite different to that of Euro 2020 which took place in 2021 - Harry Maguire, Kalvin Phillips, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish all featured in the final, which was lost on penalties to Italy, but haven't even made the squad this time around.

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