GARETH SOUTHGATE says there will no Baden-Baden Wag sideshow in Germany next summer.
England ensured top-seed status at the Euros with Monday’s 1-1 draw in North Macedonia.
Focus is now on preparations and where the squad will be staying.
England’s 2006 World Cup base was Baden-Baden, with wives and girlfriends staying nearby.
Coleen Rooney and Co made more headlines than the team with their antics.
Asked if he would fancy a repeat, Southgate said: “Well, no. We need somewhere where we can be a little bit on our own.
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“We need that nice contrast of relaxation and areas where we can work.
“You want to minimise travel where you can — but our staff are really good at picking venues the players will enjoy and feel comfortable in.
“You want somewhere where you can zone out from everything going on around you, but somewhere with facilities that are good for working.
“I wasn’t involved in the 2006 tournament in Germany so don’t know how all that was — but we have a great environment with our players.
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“We want their families to enjoy the tournament too. We welcome them in at various times.
“It really changes the dynamic of the hotel, especially if kids come in, and those elements are important for the players.”
Victoria Beckham, Cheryl Tweedy, Coleen Rooney, Carly Zucker, Elen Rivas and Co arguably overshadowed Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side.
The Three Lions crashed out to Portugal in the quarter-finals on penalties following Wayne Rooney’s red card.
Stories of Wag partying and huge shopping bills were the talk of the tournament.
Defender Rio Ferdinand said later: “We became a bit of a circus.
“And football almost became a secondary element to the main event.
“Everyone was worrying more about what people were wearing than the England team.”
That culture is a world away from the one Southgate has created during his seven-year tenure.
Next summer’s Euros will be the 53-year-old’s fourth tournament as boss, with many expecting him to finally deliver a trophy.
On December 2, England discover who will be in their group at the draw in Hamburg.
They will also learn which grounds they will be playing at in Germany, which will define where they choose to stay.
Asked about the process for picking a resort, Southgate said: “There is basically a catalogue and you’ve got to get in early on certain venues.
“Or you can try and go off the catalogue and do something different.
“We’ve had both options available to us and we are looking forward to finalising our plans.”
There is a chance that England face Scotland — just as they did at the group stage in the last Euros.
Asked if he would like that kind of draw, Southgate replied: “It doesn’t matter in the end.
“There looks like being really strong teams in pot two — and pot three could be very strong.
“At the Euros we had Croatia in with us, who proved to be one of the world’s best teams over the last few years.
“We navigated that so we’ve got to be ready for whatever comes our way.”
England underwhelmed during this international break with a 2-0 home win over minnows Malta before Monday’s draw.
But it still meant they finished 2023 unbeaten.
Southgate added: “We’ve won eight, drawn two. The last two games we experimented a bit as well.
“Standing in front of the players this week, it’s hard to escape the fact the job was done.
“So that additional edge perhaps wasn’t there against Malta.
“But against North Macedonia the mentality was really good.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
