Nottingham Forest ace Morgan Gibbs-White scored a crucial goal as the Reds beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0
Morgan Gibbs-White celebrates Nottingham Forest’s win over Tottenham Hotspur(Image: Getty)
Thomas Tuchel made a mistake leaving Morgan Gibbs-White out of the latest England squad, according to Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira.
The Reds’ No.10 is doing his best to single-handedly drag the club to survival and scored another big goal on Sunday. He found the back of the net in a 3-0 win over relegation rivals Tottenham Hotspur, the team he came close to joining last summer.
But despite his vital contributions for Forest, there was no place for Gibbs-White when Three Lions boss Tuchel named his 35-man list for the upcoming internationals against Uruguay and Japan last week. It leaves the 26-year-old battling to clinch a seat on the plane for this summer’s World Cup, while teammate Elliot Anderson appears to be a shoo-in.
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“He deserves the national team, but it is not my decision,” Pereira said of Gibbs-White. “It is a decision of the manager of the national team. Of course I respect it, but in my opinion he has the quality and the character to be there.
“He is a fantastic player. He can do everything in the game. He tries to help the team defend, he is intelligent with closing the spaces, he is a danger on the counterattack and a danger when we play with the ball, he gets assists and he scores goals.
“What else can I say? He is a strong character and a leader.
“He is a little bit sad and disappointed (at not making the England squad) in this moment, of course. But these are the moments in our lives when we need to be stronger and come back to the fight.”
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Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi also got on the scoresheet in the capital as the visitors claimed a huge three points. Victory saw them leapfrog their opponents in the Premier League table and move three points clear of danger with seven games to go.
The Reds’ survival hopes might receive another shot in the arm after the international break as last season’s top scorer Chris Wood is nearing a return. The front man has been sidelined with a knee injury since October but made his comeback for the Under-21s last Friday.
“Now we have time for him to start working with the team and to increase his level and his confidence,” Pereira said. “I think he will be able to help us in the next games.”
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