England U21s Boss Accepts Jordon Ibe Deserved To Be Sent Off

England U21s manager, Gareth Southgate, has accepted that Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe deserved to be sent off in his side’s 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Saturday in a UEFA European U21 Championship Group 9 Qualifier.

Ibe took the walk of shame after he was yellow-carded for the second time in second-half stoppage time and will serve a one-match suspension.

“It was justified. There were a few bookings given in the game for players being tugged back and both incidents were similar,” Gareth Southgate said, according to thefa.com.

“Players at this age go through peaks and troughs – he doesn’t look full of confidence at the moment but we have to try and get him to the level that we think he is capable of achieving.”

England would have nicked a win at the Arena Thun but Chuba Akpom, who had opened scoring, saw his effort cleared off the line.

“The margins of winning... a better ball to Chuba and he probably scores when it is cleared off the line and then we don’t defend the counter-attack at all well,” added Southgate .

In their next two fixtures, the England U21s face Norway and Bosnia at home in September before tackling Kazakhstan the following month.

Igho Kingsley


Photo Credit : liverpoolfc.com