[ad_1]
The head of the Three Lions has been forced to defend his record after his approach was questioned
England manager Gareth Southgate has criticized critics who say he is being overly cautious both with his tactics and with team selection.
Southgate’s management has been called into question in some quarters following Wednesday’s disappointing 1-0 Nations League loss to Denmark at Wembley.
It has been suggested that he is being too loyal to some of the more established members of the team and reluctant to put too much faith in talented players like Jack Grealish, who was man of the match in his first international start at 3-0. they won over Wales last week, but then didn’t play at all against Belgium or the Danes.
Wales’ win aside, goals have been a problem for England this season, scoring just one goal in open play in their four Nations League ties – Mason Mount’s deflected win against Belgium on Sunday.
Southgate, however, has dismissed any concerns about his approach, pointing to the fact that he gave young Reece James and Ainsley Maitland-Niles their first starts against Denmark, with a youthful-looking midfield in front of them.
“We gave two other twenty-somethings their debut against Denmark, alongside Mason Mount, Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips, who has played four games in the Premier League, along with Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford up front,” Southgate said.
“So I think we have been quite bold in many of our decisions over a long period of time.
“I think we have been top scorers in the World Cup, we were top scorers in the qualifying rounds of the Eurocup and we have been in two semi-finals.
“We have bled a lot of young players. I suppose I would point to that work, but it’s for others to have that opinion. I’m not really too worried.”
Southgate also defended his team’s performance against Denmark, which was decided by a controversial first-half penalty, minutes after Harry Maguire received a second yellow card.
“I leave camp frustrated because two decisions cost us the game against Denmark, but in the end I am very proud of what the players have done and the way they have done it during the 10 days,” he added.
“It is a pleasure working with them. They are growing in resilience. They know what the level of training has to be every day. They know what is expected of each other.
“They fight and support each other and their performance with 11 and 10 against Denmark was very mature and, in my opinion, of a very high level.”
