If England fail to advance to the latter stages of Euro 2020, Gareth Southgate’s ability to take the team forward will be the subject of scrutiny.

Southgate has a talented group of players at his disposal which should be reaching nothing less than the semi-finals of major tournaments if not win them.

One of the questionable stances taken by Southgate in the Euros so far is his decision not to hand starts to Jadon Sancho against Croatia and Scotland.

Southgate has indicated that he needs to be realistic about the demands that he places on young players such as Sancho.

“We’ve got some explosive options, and a lot of them are young players and experiencing a big tournament for the first time,” said Southgate as quoted by Sky Sports.

“So, as a coaching staff, we are realistic about our expectations of them as individuals.

“Jadon is in that mix. He’s trained well the last few days and, of course, we have got those options and those decisions to make.”

Sancho is a first-team regular for Borussia Dortmund but has been overlooked with Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden chosen ahead of him.

He also boasts more Champions League experience than many players in England’s squad, making Southgate’s comments even more laughable.

Sancho has played in more Champions League games than Jordan Pickford, Tyrone Mings, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice and Mason Mount combined.