Monday, 20 November 2023

ENGLAND: NO DEAD-RUBBERS FOR THREE LIONS AS GARETH SOUTHGATE EYES WORLD NO1 SPOT

England's year comes to a close here in Skopje on Monday evening when they bid to end a strong 2023 on a positive note against North Macedonia.

After his side laboured to a 2-0 win over Malta at Wembley on Friday, Gareth Southgate has demanded an improved performance in their final Euro 2024 qualifier.

Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are expected to come back into the team, while 18-year-old Manchester City defender Rico Lewis is in line to make his debut at left-back.

Despite an underwhelming display against Malta, there is no doubt it has been a positive year for England.




Gareth Southgate

The FA via Getty Images

They are unbeaten in 10 matches since losing to France in the World Cup quarter-finals last December — and the reverse fixture against North Macedonia was probably the high point.

England produced their most well-rounded display of the year when they thrashed tonight's opponents 7-0 at Old Trafford in June.

Their forward line that night was irresistible, Harry Kane, Saka and Marcus Rashford linking well with Trent Alexander-Arnold, who could again play in midfield tonight.

Aside from experimenting with Alexander-Arnold, Southgate has largely stuck with his tried and tested this year, and hopes that continuity will benefit England at the Euros.

Seven months out from the start of what is expected to be his final major tournament in charge, Southgate could probably name nine of his strongest XI.

Perhaps the left-sided attacker and the midfield partner to Rice are the only positions still up for grabs.

This year, England have also produced arguably their best football under Southgate. He has persisted with a 4-2-3-1 system since the World Cup, with Jude Bellingham establishing himself as the No10 — the focal point of a tireless, high-press attack.

"There were a lot of question marks over us after the World Cup, whether we can qualify and go again", Arsenal star Rice said ahead of tonight's game. "I think that we can look at this year as a really positive one. We're unbeaten, another one to go [tonight]."

"We've done really well to win the games we've won, to bounce back from that France defeat.

"A lot of teams ducked after the World Cup and probably didn't get off to the best [start] in qualifying games. But the manager was so good on that front, talking about the mental side."

While tonight is another dead rubber, Southgate has made it clear to his players they cannot waste any games.

He has said he wants England to become the No1 team in the world and they can leapfrog Brazil in the FIFA rankings to finish the year in third place, behind world champions Argentina and France.

"Qualification is done," Southgate said. "With the games at the weekend, we might be ranked third in the world, but we are two places off where we need to be, so we can't waste games.

"If we're going to be a top team, then the level of performance has got to be spot on every time."

Asked if reaching the No 1 spot was a motivation for him, Southgate said: "Yeah, because, ultimately, you achieve that through consistency and you've got to play well in the tournaments as well, because the ranking points are higher in the tournaments.

 

Source: https://onefootball.com/en/news/england-no-dead-rubbers-for-three-lions-as-gareth-southgate-eyes-world-no1-spot-38591324

 

 

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