Mats slams ‘arrogance’
England manager Gareth Southgate said there was no reason why Jermain Defoe could not play at next year’s World Cup after he marked his international comeback with a goal.
Sunderland striker Defoe, 34, scored the opener as England toiled to a 2-0 qualifying win over Lithuania on Sunday, following close to three-and-a-half years in the international wilderness.
He has scored 14 goals for Sunderland in the Premier League this season, but he also owed his international recall to the absences through injury of Harry Kane and Daniel Sturridge.
“I don’t know if we can have a distinct pecking order because players who are playing well deserve the opportunity. If we are going to be successful, we have to have that competition for places,” said Southgate.
“The reality is we will always lose players to injury. We’re never able to pick a full cohort, so it’s important we can call upon the likes of Jermain and he can have the impact he does like he did today.
“If he scores like he does in the Premier League, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be picked.”
Defoe’s 20th international goal arrived in the 22nd minute as he directed a side-foot shot past Ernestas Setkus following a burst down the left by Raheem Sterling.
Substitute Jamie Vardy notched the hosts’ second in the 66th minute, finishing coolly after being set up by Adam Lallana’s exquisite flicked pass.
Sterling and Lallana were given freedom to roam alongside Dele Alli in England’s 4-2-3-1 system and Southgate hailed their contributions.
“He’s a player we really like,” Southgate said of Manchester City winger Sterling.
“We don’t have a lot of players who can beat people in one-versus-one situations and he’s explosive in those types of areas.
“He’s improving all the time and has the hunger and desire to improve.”
On Lallana, he added: “Adam injects something. He created a really good opening just before the first goal. The game in tight areas is where his quick feet and quick brain stand out.
“There weren’t so many opportunities for us to turn the ball over high up the pitch, but he starts that press off. I’m really impressed with his mentality and quality.”
Having successfully trialled a 3-4-2-1 formation in last week’s 1-0 friendly loss to Germany, Southgate opted for a 4-2-3-1 shape against Lithuania.
Victory left England four points clear at the top of Group F, but ahead of June’s trip to old foes Scotland, Southgate sounded a note of caution.
“The group is in our hands, which is the most important thing,” he said.
“But we know what Scotland will be like and we have to play on a plastic pitch in Lithuania. We have to keep improving with every performance.”
Defeat saw Lithuania’s hopes of qualifying for a first major tournament recede further, but manager Edgaras Jankauskas said his side would draw encouragement from their battling display.
“We know how much work we have to do to improve,” said Jankauskas.
“But we have qualities that can guide that improvement – dedication, application, which are qualities we showed today. I think everyone can see that.” – AFP
– Mats Hummels has accused his Germany team-mates of being “arrogant” in Sunday’s 4-1 win in Azerbaijan which left the defending champions with five straight wins in World Cup qualifiers.
The Germans leaked their first goal since July, but extended their perfect record in Russia 2018 qualifiers as Andre Schuerrle (above) scored twice in Baku.
“We were rather arrogant today, which isn’t nice, and we made life harder for ourselves than it should have been,” Hummels admitted to broadcaster RTL.
The Bayern Munich defender said too much possession was given casually away and there were sloppy challenges from Germany.
First-half goals by Schuerrle, Thomas Mueller and Mario Gomez put Germany 3-1 up at the break after Azerbaijan midfielder Dimitrij Nazarov had netted an early equaliser.
It was the first goal Germany had conceded following seven previous clean sheets – a national team record – dating back to their 2-0 defeat against France in the semifinals of Euro 2016.
Schuerrle then added a late fourth goal to put the result beyond doubt.
Germany were at near fullstrength, but coach Joachim Loew agreed they were far from perfect.
“I am satisfied, but there was some negligence,” said Loew, whose greatest success in his decade in charge was steering Germany to the 2014 World Cup title.
“The game we delivered wasn’t up to our standards.”
But after group rivals the Netherlands crashed 2-0 against Bulgaria on Saturday, Loew praised his side for shutting the door on Azerbaijan.
This was Germany’s fifth win in five World Cup qualifiers, leaving them top of Group C with 20 goals scored and just one conceded.
It was also their eighth game unbeaten, including friendlies and qualifiers, since losing to Les Bleus in Marseille last July.
Schuerrle, whose second goal nine minutes from time sealed the win, rewarded the faith shown by Loew despite a series of below-par displays for Borussia Dortmund.
“It was a hard bit of work, we lost a few too many balls and were a bit too loose in the challenge,” he admitted. – AFP