Southgate on England Under-21s' 'winning mentality'

England Under-21s boss Gareth Southgate praised his side’s “winning mentality” after their Toulon Tournament victory on Sunday.

The Three Lions beat hosts France in Avignon to seal the title, England’s first in that competition since 1994, after four straight victories in their group games.

And Southgate believes his team were worthy winners, thanks to goals from the tournament’s top scorer Lewis Baker and the player of the tournament Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

“I think we were the best team today and I think we were the best team in the tournament, but you then have to get over the line,” he said.

“When you have a situation like we have, you’ve got to make sure you take advantage of it and I thought the players were exceptional today, but also for the whole two weeks.

“Their mentality is a winning mentality.”

Sunday’s game brought the current campaign to a close, with the Three Lions winning nine of their 11 games, drawing the other two.

And they will re-start their Euro Qualifying campaign with confidence in September when they face Norway and bid to extend their lead at the top of that group.

“It’s been a difficult year for us because we’ve lost so many players through injury and up to the senior team, so it’s been difficult to get stability in the group,” added Southgate.

“So what has pleased me with this trip is how much they’ve learned and how much they’ve come together.

“They’ve embraced everything that we’ve tried to do and this win should give them confidence both collectively and inidividually.

“People talk about spirit, but it’s what you do on the pitch and we showed it on the pitch.”

Watch the full interview with Gareth below.