English actor Danny Dyer has explained the difficulties of watching England at the Euros alongside players' families and girlfriends.
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Dyer clears up talks about 'friction'Families were not against each otherEngland prepare for life post SouthgateWHAT HAPPENED?
Earlier this week, Dyer, father of Jarrod Bowen's girlfriend Dani, had spoken to talkSPORT and mentioned 'friction' between the families of squad players as some were not afforded even a single minute of play by Gareth Southgate in Germany. However, he has now cleared up his comments about the state of the squad during the tournament.
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In a return to the talkSPORT studio on Thursday, Dyer said: "I just mentioned about the families and friction, but that wasn’t between each other. I went to the final and I had the honour of being with the families and it’s a very, very emotional thing watching England anyway.
"But when you've got a connection to the squad, like I have with Jarrod and you’re sitting with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s mum and Kyle Walker’s mum and dad, it’s a thing. And it’s just parents watching their kids, they’re all very working-class people, I love them all, they’re right up my street. And there’s been this clickbaity thing where I’m saying, ‘There’s friction between them’, like I’m some little grass.
"But that’s not the case. The friction is that all of those parents and brothers and sisters and children want to see their boy playing football and they don't all get that opportunity, unfortunately. We know Gareth stuck to the same side but they're all living in hope and they've got the shirts on with the names on the back and they just want to see their boy get a go at it.
"I was looking at [Dean] Henderson, and you know he's never gonna get shot as a keeper unless something happens to Jordan Pickford, but all of his family are there and they’d love him to get a shot. So I suppose they’re sort of praying that Pickford does get injured just so he gets on.
"That's a weird thing, and that's what I meant with the tension side of it – it’s not like at each other's throats. There's a lot of love there."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
England went on to lose the final of the Euros in Berlin against a fairly dominant Spain, and that prompted the departure of Southgate after almost eight years in charge of the English national team.
(C)Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?
With the World Cup less than two years away, the FA will look to quickly find a new boss to take over the Three Lions and prepare the squad for the United States.