England coach Gareth Southgate has said that AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori can cope with the pressure of playing for the national team.
The English defender received a callup from Southgate to be part of the national team squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures.
Speaking during his press conference following the announcement of his chosen squad (via Milan News), Southgate heaped praise upon both Tomori and Roma’s Tammy Abraham for their excellent form this season.
“First of all, congratulations must be paid to these two boys (Tomori and Abraham), for the way they have adapted abroad in a league different from ours,” the coach said.
“They had to learn a new language and integrate into a group with a different culture.”
Tomori has not always found it easy to get a callup from Southgate despite seemingly performing at a higher and more consistent level than other defenders routinely in the squad.
Winning the Scudetto with Milan left Southgate with no choice and he said that the crowds Tomori plays in front of at San Siro is a similar level of pressure to playing for the national team.
“Tomori had an excellent season with Milan. Now he is in high spirits after winning the Scudetto.
“He plays for AC Milan, where there are 70 or 80,000 fans every week: it’s a similar kind of pressure to playing for the English national team. It’s an important aspect to consider.”
England will play against Germany, Hungary and Italy.
Source sempremilan.com
