WORLD AT Qatar way to go says Southgate
GARETH SOUTHGATE is adamant that his rampant England side are far from the finished article.
World Cup semi-finalists in 2018, European runners-up in July – and now racing towards Qatar
2022 as one of the favourites for glory.
But after Harry Kane’s fourth Three Lions hattrick helped thump Albania 5-0 on Friday and left the unbeaten Group I leaders needing a point in San Marino tomorrow night to qualify for next year’s finals, Southgate refused to get carried away.
Quite the reverse.
As ever, the England boss (right) stopped short of declaring this crop – who are unbeaten in 19 games over
90 minutes – superior to any of their underachieving predecessors.
Asked if there is more to be positive about now as an England fan than at any time since Sir Alf Ramsey’s men lifted the World Cup in 1966, his response was optimistic yet suitably guarded.
Southgate said: “We’ve shown over the last couple of years that we’ve got some really good strength in depth.
“But I think that there is still a long way to go and room for improvement.
“Even against Albania, we played exceptionally well in the first half but gave away three balls that could have ended up in the back of our net.
“For one, Jordan Pickford had to make an excellent save at 1-0 so we’ve got to keep evolving and improving. “There is depth – but we’ve always had depth in this country. We’ve always had good players.
“I’m not convinced that our players are better than the team in 2004 or 2006 and that period.
“I’m not certain we’re better than ’96 or ’98 when I played but this group have got a lot of
potential and have really blended well as a team.
“They have formed a very strong bond and the way they have worked for each other has produced some really good performances and exceptional results.”
That message is great news – and the brilliant display of Reece James against Albania underlined why there is bags of potential in the ranks.
The Chelsea right-back, 22 next month, was exceptional on his eighth England appearance, operating as a virtual winger as he took his club form on to the world stage.
As far as Southgate is concerned there is no limit to how high James can climb.
He added: “We had two wing-backs flying forward, which gave us a real cutting edge. Reece did that really well against Denmark in one of his first games but then we ended up going down to 10 men and we had to change it.
“But we know he’s a player who can do that.
“Against Andorra at Wembley, he played in central midfield for 20 minutes and was very comfortable.
“I saw him do the same for Chelsea at Aston Villa last season.
“Reece is just a very, very talented footballer. Excellent with the ball and strong without it.
“His performance was top level. His last games for us were a little bit quiet. We just had to remind him of the belief we’ve got in him.
“He has everything. He’s already a top player but can be anything he wants.”
Much like this England team as a whole.