Exclusive interview with Dietmar Hamann: Ollie Watkins deserves to start over Harry Kane but Gareth Southgate is too loyal to his captain

In an exclusive interview with Best Offshore Sportsbooks, Dietmar Hamann advises Gareth Southgate on his team selection before Sunday’s Euros final.

The ex-Man City player believes Jurgen Klopp is the perfect manager to take over from Southgate & predicts his fellow German compatriot would win the 2026 World Cup win England.

  • Ollie Watkins needs to start for England but Gareth Southgate is too loyal to Harry Kane
  • Harry Kane needs to take responsibility – but he isn’t capable
  • Jude Bellingham is going down the wrong path – his attitude will be a problem
  • England will approach Jurgen Klopp over replacing Gareth Southgate
  • Klopp will give England the best possible chance of winning 2026 World Cup
  • Cristiano Ronaldo cost Portugal the chance to win Euro 2024
  • Portugal stars could quit national team if Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t retire
  • Cristiano Ronaldo cares about no one but himself – he could’ve been a hero
  • Cristiano Ronaldo did something Lionel Messi would never do
  • Germany have a team they can be proud of again

Ollie Watkins needs to start for England but Gareth Southgate is too loyal to Harry Kane

DH: “Dropping Harry Kane is a valid option because when Ollie Watkins came off the bench against Denmark he immediately made a run and was found by Jude Bellingham which gave him a great opportunity.

Kane doesn’t even make these runs or he doesn’t get on the end of them anymore. I think Ollie Watkins would be brilliant because it’s a different game when you’ve got a pace

He will stretch teams and create space for the likes of Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka to come into these pockets.

I don’t think it’s going to happen because we know Southgate has been very loyal to him. He’s his captain.”

Harry Kane needs to take responsibility – but he isn’t capable

DH: “Harry Kane scored loads of goals in the first-half of the season but missed quite a few chances after Christmas, he just looks off the pace.

I don’t know whether it’s physical or mental or what the problem is, but everything seems to happen too quick for him and hardly takes part in the game. He’s had games in Munich where he didn’t take part too much but obviously if you give him a chance, he’ll score.

For me, for a captain, for a number nine, for arguably the best or the second best centre forward in the world, who cost an awful lot of money last year and obviously earns a few quid, it’s just not enough. I don’t know what the problem is, or maybe he’s just tired. Maybe he’s at an age now where maybe he needs longer between games because he turns 31 after the Euros.

But so far you’ve got to say it’s disappointing. In his defence, you’ve got to say, I think the way England have played, it’s been very hard to shine as a centre forward because everything is individual brilliance.

There’s no flow to their game. There’s no cohesion. You can’t really see them opening up teams and creating space for anyone. They don’t. So it’s hard for him. But at the same time, maybe he needs to make things happen.

If he sees things aren’t going to change, he needs to do something about it. But he’s I don’t think he’s capable of doing that at the moment.”

Jude Bellingham is going down the wrong path – his attitude will be a problem

DH: “Jude Bellingham, at the moment, is going down the wrong route.

If you look at some of the comments he has made, including about the referee in Germany when he got away with a fine when he should’ve been banned.

There’s a lot of things he said or he’s done which I don’t like. I didn’t like his behaviour at all. He barged into Filip Kostic in the first game after a tackle and he should’ve been booked for it. Then he scores the last-minute goal against Slovakia and he stands there saying: ‘Who else?’

Now I’d like to know what all his teammates think because there’s 10 players next to him who are top class players in their own right. Now he’s obviously got it in his head that he’s the best and he’s the greatest in that team. You’ve got to be careful because there’s always someone bigger than you.

If you behave like that, you tempt fate when at the moment, I think the jury’s out. He had a good first half of the season at Real Madrid. But in the quarter-final, semi-final and the final of the Champions League he was nowhere to be seen.

They won the Champions League because of Andriy Lunin, because of Toni Kroos, because of Vini Junior, because of Rodrygo – not because of Bellingham.”

England will approach Jurgen Klopp over replacing Gareth Southgate

DH: “Jurgen Klopp wants to take a year off and the German national team manager role is taken, but I’m pretty sure England will approach Klopp when the tournament is over.

I think a lot of people would be very happy if he were to take over the national team. He said he’s taking a sabbatical so is it possible to wait for six months or maybe let him take over next summer?

There are a few qualifiers but qualifying has always been pretty comfortable for England. I think they will ask him whether he wants to do it and then it’s up to him whether he would accept it or not, Thomas Tuchel might be interested as well.

Years ago it would have been hard to imagine a German manager in England but the chances have never been better than it’s going to happen in the next few months.”

Jurgen Klopp will give England the best possible chance of winning 2026 World Cup

DH: “On paper, Jurgen Klopp is best placed to lead England to World Cup glory in 2026 because of what he did at Liverpool. He managed to win the Premier League and two CHampions League titles, with the squad he had he did wonderful things.

I think with the squad England have got now and also the age of the players, I think there’ll be a force for the next two or three tournaments. Obviously the next World Cup is in two years’ time.

It’s certainly something which could get England fans dreaming.”

Cristiano Ronaldo cost Portugal the chance to win Euro 2024

DH: “In terms of Cristiano Ronaldo’s tournament, I think Portugal had a huge chance to go deep into the competition and they didn’t get there because he insisted on playing.

Roberto Martinez said that he had the final say but I struggle to believe that was the case because Ronaldo would’ve been taken off or even benched against France.

I think he’s probably realised as well that he can’t cut it anymore at the top. I just found it bizarre for a player of his stature, who has scored more than a thousand goals in his career, played in the third group game when they have already qualified.

It’s clear it was because he wanted to be the one who scores in so many consecutive tournaments. Going to a tournament at his age and still making it all about himself, I think that is pretty poor.”

Portugal stars could quit national team if Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t retire

DH: “I’m not sure if he wants to carry on. I’m not sure whether there might be some players who say that if he does carry on, I won’t play anymore.

Because if he plays in the next tournament, they’ve got no chance. That was proved this summer. Portugal should still be in the competition now, but they are not because he insisted on playing and playing every single minute.

I think he played the most minutes of any of their outfield players, despite playing in a non-competitive league in Saudi Arabia and being 39-years-old.

He made it about himself, with that behaviour he harmed the team’s potential to be successful and I just feel for some of the Portuguese players because I think they deserve better.”

Cristiano Ronaldo cares about no one but himself – he could’ve been a hero

DH: “Cristiano Ronaldo’s actions had an impact on his team-mates, if you see your star man in bits and in tears that’s what happens, they could’ve lost the game after that with Pepe’s mistake.

We don’t know if that would’ve happened without him or not but it puts doubt into your team. I think it was just an outrageous act of selfishness. It just goes to show that he played an individual sport for the last 20 years. He doesn’t care about anyone by himself.

He did pretty good at it, you’ve got to give him credit. He played an individual sport in a team’s environment, in a team’s game, won a lot of things, got a lot of goals, and he showed how good he was.

But I think it was just a shame. He could have gone out of this tournament a hero if he cared about the team, if he showed he was a team player. He pretended to be for one or two games, but then he went back to his old ways.”

Cristiano Ronaldo did something Lionel Messi would never do

DH: “It’s not about his mentality, but you’ve got to think about the team first. I can tell you one thing, they’ve been the best players in the world for the last 20 years but if Messi was in a state where he couldn’t help the team anymore, he would 100% not insist on playing.

He would say to the manager, you know what, I don’t think I can cut it anymore. Start with another formation. If you need me for the last 20 minutes, 30 minutes when the other players get tired, I might be able to do a bit of magic.

But no way he would have occupied a space where somebody else would have played a better, a much better role.”

Germany have a team they can be proud of again

DH: “The German fans are pretty happy because the team made them proud, which wasn’t the case in the previous three tournaments.

We had a lot of disappointing results and performances in those tournaments. The mood is obviously very disappointed, a lot of people go on about that potential penalty, which I don’t think it was. We lost the game but I think they came out with a lot of credit and I think they gained a lot of confidence back which they lost in the last few years.

So even though they did get beat in the quarter-finals, I think people were still pretty happy that we’ve got a national team again we can be proud of.”

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