Jose Mourinho outlines how England can beat Germany in Euro 2020 last 16 tie

The Three Lions host Die Mannschaft at Wembley this evening with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs

Jose Mourinho insists England must use wing-backs to combat Germany in their Euro 2020 last 16 tie today.

The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham manager has identified Die Mannschaft’s wing-backs, Robin Gosens and Joshua Kimmich, as key players at Wembley this evening.

Joachim Low’s side have enjoyed mixed success this tournament, though their finest performance came in the thrashing of Portugal, who used a back four and struggled to cope with the Atalanta and Bayern Munich stars.

Mourinho has therefore urged Gareth Southgate to negate the threat by turning to a system with three or five at the back.

“I think the best way for England to set up is to mirror Germany’s system of a back three and wing-backs,” Mourinho told The Sun.

“Portugal played with a back four against Germany and the German wing-backs, Robin Gosens and Josh Kimmich, destroyed Portugal. Portugal couldn’t cope. Everything was starting with Kimmich on the right, then an overload on that wing, attracting the Portuguese team to that side, then quick changes of direction to Gosens, who is playing amazingly.

“Hungary, who can’t compare to the strength of the Portuguese, played with a back five and they controlled Kimmich and Gosens. England have played three games with a back four and haven’t conceded a goal, so I wouldn’t be critical if Gareth goes with a four again — but it would then be compulsory for incredible defensive work from the wingers, which would limit their attacking capabilities.

“When Portugal lost on Sunday, they played with a back four against Belgium’s back five. Thorgan Hazard, at left wing-back, scored the winner because Bernardo Silva, playing as a winger, didn’t control him in that situation.”

Mourinho believes Gosens is a key player to stop (Getty)

Southgate meanwhile has been discussing his side’s preparation and the importance of not allowing his team to be stunned by an event on the pitch.

“It’s something we’ve been working on,” Southgate said when asked about dealing with specific psychological challenges.

“There are different challenges as we’ve seen within the last 48 hours: how you recover from a setback with a freak goal; how you recover from a red card…

“You’ve got to ride those moments and make sure as a team you react well to those moments.”