GARETH TO GIVE IT HIS BEST SHOT

GARETH SOUTHGATE believes his England side need a tougher challenge after cruising through their World Cup qualifying group.

The Three Lions dropped just four points from 10 games in Group F to clinch their place in Russia but the quality of opposition – Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta – was limited.

Brazil and Germany arrive in London next month for friendlies and Southgate believes they will pose much sterner tests.

“We’ve got to test ourselves against the best,” he said.

“Our defenders need a different sort of challenge.

“They need to play out under more pressure and to defend against top strikers.

“How are young players going to improve if they don’t play against the best?”

With qualification already in the bag before kick-off, Southgate rang the changes last night, handing debuts to Harry Winks, Harry Maguire and Aaron Cresswell.

“We gave an opportunity to some players we wanted to see,” he said. “That kept the motivation of the team high because there were enough players with a point to prove.

“In many aspects we moved the ball quite well and I was very pleased with Harry Winks in that respect.

“One of the big things when you play for England isn’t necessarily the opposition, it’s whether you can handle wearing an England shirt.

“I thought he did that in a really accomplished way. He looked confident and composed and tried to play forward when he could, so that was a real positive.

“We just lacked a bit of quality in the final third and that has been a familiar theme in this qualification campaign.

“The challenge is to find a way to break down a packed defence who don’t come out even at 1-0 down. We have to find a way to combat that.”