Posted: 23:42, 11 June 2022 | Updated: 01:39, 12 June 2022
Gareth Southgate has admitted that England leave themselves open to criticism after the empty night left in danger of relegation to the Nations League. England drew 0-0 with Italy at Molineux and while they had a lot of possession, there was no real lead and Southgate was unusually irritable on the sidelines for much of the match, throwing his water bottle in frustration. In three games in seven days, England have only one penalty for Harry Kane in Germany to show their efforts and this result leaves them in last place in Group A. There is now even more importance to ensure a positive result against in Hungary here at Molineux on Tuesday. Gareth Southgate says England has relied heavily on Harry Kane and Rahim Sterling But there is no guarantee of anything, given England’s miserable form, and Southgate acknowledges that the critics will line up if there is no recovery in what they produce in the opponent’s penalty area. Southgate said: “We used the ball better (against Germany) and that’s nice, but we did not get the rewards. We rely a lot on Harry and Rahim (Sterling) scoring goals for us and that is very worrying. “Harry and Rahim are the ones who score consistently and that is something we need to improve if we want to progress as a team. Having a lot of ball does not guarantee that you will win games and it does not guarantee that you will score. I’m sure we will be open to criticism. We have some very good forwards and the return of our captain’s goals is steady. But we have to spread the load. “There are players who score more regularly for their clubs here and who now have to make changes internationally.” To deepen Southgate’s view: this was England’s fifth game in 2022 – they only have three more before their World Cup campaign in Qatar – and they have scored six times. Kane has two, Sterling one. The rest played in friendlies against Switzerland and Cλεte d’Ivoire in March by Ollie Watkins, Tyrone Mings and Luke Shaw – neither of whom was selected for this team. It’s a situation that Southgate recognizes needs to be rectified immediately. Southgate admits Three Lions are open to criticism from fans England had some chances against the European champions: Tammy Abraham missed an early opening with gold, Mason Mount hit the crossbar and Sterling threw an attractive ball from Reece James over the crossbar, but it was over. “It’s not very worrying,” said Leeds midfielder Calvin Phillips. “The attackers we have here are productive. We just have to keep creating opportunities and eventually the goals will come. We do not feel tired and we hope not to see it either. Southgate shuffled his team against Italy and explained his side’s choice, saying: “We needed to see different players. We knew after a physically difficult game in Germany that it was important to freshen things up. Their start without a win in the Nations League continued after the draw with Italy “It was frustrating not to win. The two or three opportunities we created, we did not take advantage of and they can hurt. You will not have 10 chances against top level teams. We have to ensure that we will continue to pass the ball through our opponents “. The Italian team was unrecognizable from the team that had won at Wembley last July, with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donaroma being the only one to start both games. Manuel Locatelli, who was excellent here, had entered as a change in the Euro 2020 final. But they are still at the top of the group and Mancini said: “England are still one of the best teams in Europe. They have many, many good players. “They are trying to do something different in the run-up to the World Cup and he is one of the main candidates to win in Qatar.”
