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In the wake of Sunday’s encouraging win over Belgium, England’s players gathered for an impromptu team meeting at their Pennyhill Park training base.
He presented Gareth Southgate’s side with the opportunity to pat himself on the back. Who could envy them a measure of complacency? England’s victory over the world’s number one ranked team is a highlight of Southgate’s reign thus far.
But England no longer works like this: Southgate has taken care of that.
“The sign of a good team is to be able to support a great result,” Southgate said. ‘You have to have consistency, you have to have constant improvement and constant evolution.
“It’s great that we showed a great result against a very good team. But we have to beat Denmark again. If you want to be the best players or the best teams, that is the demand. You have to be relentless on that path.
“We have made it clear and the veteran players backed him in a meeting we had on Monday morning, and we felt that that was the first step after Belgium.
‘It wasn’t having two days of comfort and everyone was patting each other on the back. That was done 30 minutes into the game and we were preparing for Denmark. “
This attitude has put England on track to qualify for their second consecutive UEFA Nations League finals: Wednesday’s victory would cement their place at the top of Group A2.
Southgate doesn’t get carried away, of course. Adjustments are still needed in his plan ahead of the European Championship next summer.
But, even if England’s countryside refuses to get excited about him, the victory over Belgium at least provided tangible proof that they can hold their own with the world’s elite nations and are seemingly on an upward trajectory.
However, Southgate is convinced that his plans for the delayed Euro 2020 are not set in stone.
He said: ‘We are looking at the players that we have available, who can play at the highest level, with the demands, physically and mentally, that those high-level games bring and a classic example is now. We had a demanding match and we have to play again two days later.
That’s kind of a replica of what you’d find in a tournament, so this is a good test for us.
‘There’s an element to keeping something good going, but is it also the right thing to do? Do we need some freshness?
‘Those are the decisions we have to make. They have responded well as a group. One of the great advantages of the last two camps has been that we have three or four players who have emerged as contenders, not just to be on the team, but to be on the team. ‘
There are still tactical issues that need to be addressed. Despite the victory over Belgium, England were dominated for most of the game.
The victory was due more to staying in the game than anything else – the fact that England’s goals came from a Marcus Rashford penalty and Mason Mount’s deflected shot is proof of that.
Of course, the injured Raheem Sterling, a guaranteed starter, still needs to return, while Harry Kane’s lack of fitness meant that the win over Roberto Martinez’s side on the bench began.
Having those two laid off will help ensure that England can continue to compete with the elite nations.
But should there be a place for a talent like Jack Grealish? His impressive debut against Wales last week suggests it’s a conversation Southgate and his backroom team should at least entertain.
However, arguably the biggest problem ahead of next summer’s tournament is England’s left side. Kieran Trippier’s surprise withdrawal from the team yesterday only amplified Southgate’s situation.
The Atlético de Madrid full-back started as a left-back in Sunday’s win at Wembley. It is a role that he has been asked to play before, even though he is naturally right-handed.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, another right foot, hopes the go-ahead will replace Trippier. Southgate has left-handed options, although Ben Chilwell, who should be the Euro’s first-choice left-back, will also miss tonight’s game.
The Chelsea star suffers from a mild illness and retired from the squad yesterday.
Arsenal’s 19-year-old Bukayo Saka, who made his first start against Wales last week, is seen as one for the future. “Our left side is a three-hour discussion with a pint,” laughed the head of England.
Southgate is sure to get the beers if England pull off three wins out of three tonight.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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