England ‘a work in progress' and have a lot of improving to do

Independent

11-06-2025

Conor Gallagher accepts there is 'a lot of improvement' to make following a disappointing international break which saw England slip to a first defeat under Thomas Tuchel.
England laboured to an unimpressive 1-0 victory over Andorra, a side ranked 173rd in the world, before slipping to their first defeat to African opposition three days later.
Despite Harry Kane's early goal, the warning signs were there as Dean Henderson made five saves in the first period, but after Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr drew the visitors level, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly struck in the second half as boos rang around the City Ground.
Gallagher, who was substituted in the second half, revealed Tuchel was calm in the dressing room after the game and is frustrated the next international window is three months away.
The Atletico Madrid midfielder said: 'It was a really tough game, but we're still building. There's a lot to improve and there's a lot to work on and, as a team, we'll do that.
'I'm sure the manager and the coaching staff will look back at the game and see where we can be better because there is a lot of improvement to be made, but we're moving forward.
'He's calm. He's obviously disappointed and not happy, but he's calm with us. He knows we could be a lot better.
'It's a shame because we're away from each other for a few months now, whereas he would like to kind of fix the problem straight away, but he can't because that's how it is in international football.
'It's a work in progress and all the lads and the staff and the manager are all confident and happy with the progression.
'We have a lot to build on and improve and that's what we're going to try to do.'
England were accused of not showing the right attitude in their narrow win over minnows Andorra.
Asked whether they had shown the right application against Senegal, Gallagher replied: 'Yeah, definitely. I think we really wanted to win and I feel like we worked hard.
'I don't think we were great, if I'm being honest. But like I keep saying, it's a kind of work in progress and we need to improve moving forward and we're all happy to be doing that.'
Gallagher's focus will now switch to the Club World Cup as he prepares to join up with his Atletico team-mates in the United States ahead of their first game against Champions League winners Paris St Germain at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
He said: 'It's really exciting and I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be a great tournament. I think it will be really exciting when all the teams are actually there and the tournament starts.
'You want to always play against the best players and the midfielders. Obviously (PSG) had an unbelievable season, so you want to be playing against these guys. We know how hard it will be, but it's good for us and it's exciting.'