Southgate may shuffle pack in bid to inject spark into England

GARETH Southgate is contemplating changes in personnel and tactics against Denmark as the England manager looks to inject energy into a side that toiled to victory in Iceland.

The Three Lions made their long-awaited return to action on Saturday, although their display after 10 months away was rusty against the disciplined and dogged hosts in Reykjavik.

Raheem Sterling’s lastgasp penalty was followed by an even later spot-kick miss by Birkir Bjarnason as a forgettable Nations League fixture ended in a dramatic 1-0 win against their Euro 2016 foes.

But the tepid performance underlined the lack of sharpness brought by a truncated – and in some cases non-existent – pre-season at club level, leaving Southgate pondering how to approach tomorrow’s clash against Denmark.

“We’ll have to assess really carefully because there’s lots of different factors in that,” Southgate said.

“We’re going to need energy for sure at this stage of the season – that’s going to be as critical as anything – and then what’s the best tactical approach to the game.

“So, we are going to have to work our way through that.

“We knew that was going to be a huge challenge. That’s part of the reason we thought the five subs would be in for this.

“I didn’t quite understand that. They put them in for the U/21s last night. For us, the Nations League was the perfect opportunity to do it.

“When it was voted through, I didn’t think for the league it would be appropriate but I felt for the Nations League, especially for every country this September camp was going to be difficult on player fitness.

Raheem Sterling’s late penalty gave England victory.