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Luke Shaw: We would never celebrate another team's demise like Wales did

England's Luke Shaw and Jordan Pickford cover their mouths as they chat - Reuters
England's Luke Shaw and Jordan Pickford cover their mouths as they chat - Reuters

Luke Shaw has insisted England would never celebrate another team’s demise in the way Wales did at Euro 2016 and that they remain "respectful" towards their opponents.

Footage went viral of the Welsh squad celebrating wildly after Iceland’s famous win in Nice six years ago, with the clips noted by England players at the time. Chris Coleman’s team at the time explained the reaction as being the only British team left in the tournament.

The jubilant scenes in that Wales squad adds spice to Tuesday’s clash at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium where England need a point to reach the World Cup knockout stages while Wales need victory to have any chance of staying in the competition.

“Of course, it wasn’t nice. We can say things in interviews and I’d rather do our talking on the pitch, rather than off it,” said Shaw.

“I think we are a respectful group. We do things in the right way. That’s the example Gareth wants to set. We are fully behind that. We are fully respectful. That’s the way Gareth sets us out to be.”

Shaw was recovering from a double leg-break for Euro 2016 but the celebration footage was seen by players. Kyle Walker, Eric Dier, Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford were in the team when England played Wales during that tournament, with their only clash since being a behind-closed-doors friendly where Gareth Southgate fielded a second-string team.

The goalless draw against USA on Friday evening means Group B will be decided on Tuesday, with Wales needing to overturn a six-goal swing on England or to win and results elsewhere to go their way.

While Shaw agreed that the Welsh celebrations could be an added motivation, he added: “Our motivation in itself has to be at its highest level. We are at the World Cup. We have great aims for what we want to achieve. I don’t think there’s any more motivation than what we have already.

“For people from the outside of our circle, it’s going to look like the end of the world [drawing with USA] but we are all really positive. At the Euros we drew our second game and look what happened from there.

“We can’t let this result be the end of the world. We can’t let it be like that. People are going to feel like that from outside the group. The group inside we need to stick together. Be confident, positive and be ready for the next game.”

England offered a lacklustre showing against an energetic USA side who held them to a goalless draw - Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP
England offered a lacklustre showing against an energetic USA side who held them to a goalless draw - Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP

Actor Michael Sheen visited the Wales squad before they flew to Qatar to give a powerful motivational speech, although Southgate says motivation to win this week will not be a problem for his squad.

“We are going to play an opponent that is wounded and, like everybody else, desperate to beat the English,” said Southgate. “Match the spirit... I would be very disappointed if someone says to me that their players will want it more than ours. I would be asking questions about what we stand for and what we have been for five years.

“I don’t think in the time I have been in charge that we have fallen short because of pride or emotion and spirit in wearing the shirt. What we have got to do is play well and use the ball well. They have got some players who can change games and are good players so we have got to be aware of that but it’s about concentrating on our performance and making sure that we step up again.”

Southgate will check on fitness levels before deciding whether to make changes to his starting line-up after drawing a blank against USA, although James Maddison is likely to only be ready for the bench after recovering from a knee injury.

“We’ve got to assess how everybody is after the game. Then we have got to consider whether refreshing certain positions is going to be as important because we have got a good squad and these games are taking a lot out of people,” Southgate said.