England not ready to win World Cup
Southgate hopes to build on shock success in Russia
Samara – England manager Gareth Southgate said his side were “not the finished article” after qualifying for the country’s first World Cup semifinal appearance since 1990 with a 2-0 victory over Sweden on Saturday.
Headed goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli, and a handful of key saves from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, sent England through to a lastfour showdown with Croatia on Wednesday.
Vanquished Sweden boss Janne Andersson suggested England were good enough to “go all the way” in Russia, while Southgate believes there is much more to come from his youthful group of players.
“We are a team who are still improving. We know where we are, we’re having success because everybody is working so hard,” Southgate said, after joining Alf Ramsey and Bobby Robson as the third manager to guide England to the World Cup semifinals.
“We’re not the finished article, we don’t have renowned world-class players yet,” he said.
“We have lots of good young players who are showing on a world stage; they’re prepared to be brave with the ball. They try to play the right way and [they] have shown some mental resilience.
“We know in years to come they’re going to be stronger.”
England have avoided several title contenders in a more favourable half of the draw, but Southgate said the success of the nation’s youth teams was a clear indicator of the talent coming through.
He pleaded with Premier League clubs to show faith in youngsters, restricted by the vast number of imported foreign players.
“Whether we’re in the top four in the world is something we would still have to prove, I think, but we’re really progressing well and we do have some good players and they need opportunities to play.”
“Hopefully with what our junior teams have been doing at international level as well, it will be a sign to all clubs, whether in England or abroad, that English players can play [too].”