Southgate ‘under no illusions’
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Manager Gareth Southgate said England has “no illusions” as to its standing in international soccer after finishing fourth at the World Cup in Russia.
Belgium won Saturday’s third-place playoff in St. Petersburg with goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard to deny England its best finish at a World Cup on foreign soil.
“We are very proud of what we’ve done, but we’re under no illusions as a team as to where we stand,” said Southgate, after his side lost to Belgium for the second time in the tournament.
“We finished in the final four but we’re not a top-four team yet, we’ve never hidden behind that. Against the very best teams we’ve come up short.”
England lost three of its seven matches at the tournament. Its 2-1 semifinal defeat by Croatia prevented it from reaching a first final in 52 years. It has beaten just two countries ranked inside the world’s top 20 during Southgate’s tenure, knocking Colombia out on penalties in the last 16 while overcoming a mediocre Dutch side in a friendly.
“I felt it was important to tell the team how proud I was of what they’d done and recognize how far they’d got,” Southgate said, as England matched its fourth-place finish from 1990.
“We also recognized after the semifinal where we stood, which is exactly what we found out again today.
“We haven’t hidden in terms of where we see our progress.
“We haven’t hidden in terms of what we think needs to improve, but we also leave here having progressed a lot as a team.”
England’s next game is against Spain in September in its opening match of the new UEFA Nations League, a competition introduced to effectively replace international friendlies.
“We now have some big fixtures in the autumn, playing the likes of Spain, Switzerland and Croatia,” Southgate said.
“They’re great opportunities for us to develop, to improve, to try things and look at players.”
The success of Southgate’s young squad in Russia has been greeted with a groundswell of support back home, after England’s best performance at a major competition since Euro 96.