Football
Rob Dawson, Correspondent 6y

'No doubt' England should go to World Cup - Gareth Southgate

BURTON, England -- Gareth Southgate has branded the relationship between the UK and Russia as a "serious matter" but the England manager insists he is still preparing for the World Cup as normal.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has suggested the team could boycott the tournament this summer in the wake of the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, and Prime Minister Theresa May has expelled 23 Russian diplomats in response.

On Thursday, Southgate named a 27-man squad for friendlies against Netherlands and Italy this month as part of his final preparations for the World Cup and he insists he is still expecting to travel to Russia in June.

"Well, look, clearly it's a really serious matter and it's developing very quickly," he told a news conference. "But my job as the England football manager is to concentrate on the football and prepare the team.

"As far as all my briefings and information is, we're preparing to go to the World Cup, there's no doubt in our mind that's what we should be doing.

"And the only thing at this stage that is of highest importance is the safety and security of our players and absolutely of our travelling supporters.

"So, they're the things we're focused on, really. I think it's a matter that's completely out of my control."

"We are desperate to go to a World Cup and that's really where my remit ends on that matter.''

England will take a squad of 23 players to Russia in the summer, as well as a large group of coaches, support staff and a contingent of travelling fans.

They kick off against Tunisia in Volgograd on June 18 and Southgate says the safety of everybody associated with England is paramount.

"Always when we're preparing for any away match, and of course we've travelled all around the world, it's really important for us that our players and their families and our supporters feel that they're safe," he added. "Feels that there's plans in place to look after them properly.

"We need them to be able to focus on playing football with as little going on in the background to interfere with their performance as possible.

"We would always have briefings, meetings, you know our security guys would keep us up to speed with what's going on and that is very important to us."

Southgate accepts that the tensions between the UK and Russia may stop some supporters from following the team this summer, although he is still hopeful some will make the trip.

He said: "Well, look, it's always a huge boost for us as a team when we've got our travelling support with us.

"We have some of the best fans in the world so, in the end, that's got to be an individual choice as to which games they attend.

"It costs a lot of money to follow England and tickets for major tournaments are expensive, so there's various reasons why people choose to go to certain games.

"For us, it's a massive boost when we've got our supporters in the stadium. Definitely."

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