Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Southgate eyes victory as well as progress against rivals Hungary
GARETH Southgate will continue to balance the pursuit of progress with a desire to win as England attempt to kick-start their Nations League campaign against Hungary with the World Cup looming large.
The end of a mammoth season for club and country is in sight for the Three Lions, who complete a run of four international matches in 11 days at a sold-out Molineux this evening.
England kicked-off June’s Nations League slog with a shock 1-0 loss in Budapest and have been unable to record a win since, with a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Germany followed by a drab 0-0 home draw against Italy.
Those results leave them bottom of Group A3 at the halfway point but Southgate has no regrets about using this run of games to experiment given the World Cup in Qatar is just five months away.
Asked what the priority is against Hungary, the England boss said: “Win the game, first of all but, as you’re aware, throughout this period I have several different objectives that we’re trying to achieve.
“We’ve got players who are fresh, that could be important. There’s definitely some things we want and need to see.
“We’ve got a different sort of tactical challenge tonight, which every team in the group and lots of other teams around Europe are finding difficult against Hungary. They’re a good side.
“So there’s a lot for us to take from the game and it’s very important to say this group of players have been incredible – their mentality, their desire to play for England, to work on the training ground every day to get better.
“We’re very fortunate to have a group who are as committed.”