MY ACCOUNT
England boss Gareth Southgate insists he will take the positives out of his side’s uninspiring stalemate with USA.
Expectations were raised among Three Lions supporters after a convincing 6-2 thrashing of Iran in Monday’s opening contest but they found things much tougher going against Greg Berhalter’s men.
Though his side were second-best in terms of clear-cut chances, Southgate was encouraged by his players’ attitudes and called for perspective in regard to England’s position in Group B.
The 52-year-old explained: “I knew it would be difficult for us after such a high [against Iran] to replicate that type of performance, so I’m really pleased with how the players have applied themselves.
“Some of our quality in the final third could have been a little bit better, but we’ve shown great resilience to defend against an opponent that kept asking questions and we’ve just not been able to open them up with that really clear-cut chance.
“We didn’t quite have that same zip, but this is going to happen with tournament football. We’re not going to roll through a tournament and sweep through everybody without having nights like that, where you’ve got to show different qualities to get the result.
“The silver medal today was a point because it puts us in a really strong position in terms of qualification. If we can win our last game [against Wales on Tuesday], we win the group.
“The objective is to get out of the group, you get three games to do it. We’ve done it in two games the last two tournaments, but it’s very unrealistic to expect that every time.”
Phil your boots
Former England defender Gary Neville has been one of Southgate’s strongest supporters in recent times but admitted he was surprised not to see Phil Foden feature in the 0-0 draw.
Manchester City midfielder Foden, 22, was given 20 minutes from the bench during the Iran victory but was overlooked for a cameo against the Americans, with Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford chosen instead.
It was a decision that baffled Neville, who said: “Tournaments are very rarely a bed of roses all the way through but it was poor.
“We wanted a lot more from England. Our midfield didn’t click tonight, I thought we looked tired all over the pitch.
“I was disappointed not to see Foden — for me that talent is huge. For him not to be in a starting XI and not come off the bench was interesting.”
Asked about Foden’s lack of action, Southgate explained: “We thought it was the right thing to keep the team from the start.
“And then the wide players, we went with Jack and Marcus instead of Phil on the changes. We thought that Jack would keep the ball well for us and get us up the pitch.
“Marcus’ speed we thought would also be a threat coming into that last part of the game.”
With England having been outplayed for large spells of the contest, calls for mass changes ahead of their final group game with Wales next Tuesday evening appear inevitable.
