• England manager troubled by the way players celebrated World Cup win • ‘It’s the badge on the front of the shirt rather than the name on the back’

Gareth Southgate has told England’s youngsters to focus on the badge over the name on the back of the shirt after the debate sparked by the under-17s’ celebrations following their victory in last Saturday’s World Cup final in Kolkata.

Danny Murphy led the criticism of the team for turning their shirts back to front in the aftermath of the win over Spain, saying that it was wrong that the England crest did not appear in photographs, and Southgate sided with his former international team-mate when he urged the stars of the future to value the collective over individual glory.

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“I balance the fact they’re young kids in a real moment of ecstasy where, are they going to think logically about what they’re doing?” England’s manager said. “However, I think what we would hope in the future is that the Three Lions is the more important thing. It’s the badge on the front of the shirt rather than the name on the back.

“I also understand at that moment they’re not necessarily thinking about that but I think it’s a good thing to talk to the young teams about moving forward, that we’re building for England and it’s about the team. It’s about winning together and experiences together. It’s not about building up any one individual.”

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While Southgate acknowledged that his unease with the way the team marked becoming world champions might be down to the age gap, he did not shy away from making his position on the matter clear when asked if it was a conscious act by the players.

“I think that’s the nature of society a bit today, isn’t it?” he said. “It’s difficult to know really without asking them. I wonder why that was. I think some of the under-20s [who won their own World Cup in June] did it as well. It’s a bit generational perhaps, but I think a good message from national coaches that we have discussed is: let’s make that point.

“We don’t want to beat those kids with a stick because of what they’ve done because it’s a moment to celebrate, but I think humility is really important. An important trait for young players is recognising you’re part of something bigger. When you play for England that is an important message.

“Everybody would have a different view whether it matters or not. I think it’s important that whether it’s your club or your country, the badge you play for is the important thing. Every club and every national team has had great players before and will have great players in the future. If you’re going to be a top player, being selfless is important.”

Southgate was keen to stress the positives after it was put to him that this was an early taste of what life in the spotlight will be like for players after their winning run in India. “They’ve had some fantastic coverage, haven’t they?” he said. “If that’s something they learn and if that’s the worst thing they’ve done over the four weeks, where I think they’ve been brilliant ambassadors for English football – they seem to have interacted really well with the Indian public and were having great support from local people in every city wherever they’ve been because of that engagement – then I’m back to, ideally, would they do that? No. But also what they’ve done in a positive way far outweighs what they’ve done with that.”

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Having picked a youthful squad for the Wembley friendlies against Germany on Friday and Brazil a week on Tuesday, Southgate’s thoughts turned to the next generation getting opportunities for their clubs. He said that the recent trend of English youngsters heading to Germany, such as Reece Oxford and Jadon Sancho joining Borussia Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund respectively, can have drawbacks. “It’s brave of them to go abroad to look for opportunities,” he said. “That would be a great life experience for them and to have to take the responsibility of living in another country, learning another language. It will make them a better rounded person, which will help them as a player. They’ll be exposed to different tactical challenges within the games.

“The downside is the good German young players get to play against our good players, so they benefit from it as well. You want our best learning from our best rather than them going over and helping the Germans develop, perhaps. But look, if they’re going to go and play first-team football, then great.

“Sancho was very highly thought of at Manchester City and was going to be training with the first team, so that opportunity might have come here as well. I know what they think of Phil Foden. Those two were earmarked to train with their first team all season. So we won’t know whether Jadon would have got the next bit but he’s now at least dipped his toes for Dortmund.”