GARETH: I KNOW I’LL COP IT!
England boss admits knives will be out if his team are beaten again
GARETH SOUTHGATE admits he has left himself open to stinging criticism if England crash out of the World Cup on Tuesday.
Having made eight changes in the defeat to Belgium, the England manager realises he will be in for a rough ride if his team do not book a quarter-final slot with victory over Colombia.
Had England won the game against the Belgians they would have faced Japan, an easier tie on paper.
‘We had to make a decision we felt gave us the best opportunity preparing the whole squad for that match (against Belgium) and that’s what we tried to do,’ said Southgate.
‘Of course, if we don’t win, I understand people would say whatever about the Belgium game, but for me that was the right thing to do and you have to take decisions you believe are the right ones.’
Southgate also revealed that Harry Kane fully accepted his surprise decision to bench him for the defeat to Roberto Martinez’s side following heart-to-heart talks with the manager.
Sportsmail understands Kane was desperate to play in the final Group G clash in Kaliningrad as he sought to stretch his lead in the race for the Golden Boot.
Even at Spurs, the striker is known for his dedication to play in every game, no matter the competition.
and Kane’s determination to play against Belgium compelled Southgate into holding talks with his captain to explain his decision to rest him ahead of the knockout rounds. The striker is said to have respected the manager’s decision and reasoning for it.
Southgate wants to keep his starters — including Kane — fresh for the last-16 game against Colombia and free from injury.
‘I felt the need to sit with Harry and he was brilliant,’ said Southgate. ‘He understood, 100 per cent, that it was team first.
‘He said: “Look, I know everyone says I want the Golden Boot. Of course it’s something I want to do. But the main thing is getting the team through the first knockout”.’
Southgate issued a motivational dressingroom rallying cry to his players in the aftermath of their defeat to Belgium.
He ordered his players not to dwell on the loss but instead maintain the positivity garnered from the wins over Tunisia and Panama. Southgate told his squad that bouncing back from disappointments is the mark of the best teams in the world and called on his team to show the same resilience. He wants his players to trust in the process they have started, believing that resting his starters ahead of the knockout stages was the correct decision. The team’s video analysts have already put together detailed dossiers and footage of Colombia to ensure players are as best prepared as possible.
Southgate will make a host of changes from the understrength side that started against the Belgians, with England’s big guns set to return for a game which has been dubbed their ‘biggest for a decade’.
dele alli will be fit after fully recovering from a thigh injury that kept him out against Panama and Belgium.
He started in the opening game against Tunisia, when he picked up the injury. But he is now available, with Southgate fully expected to hand the Tottenham midfielder a route straight back into the starting line-up.
Only in Moscow on Tuesday will we know if the manager has made the right call in passing on the chance to meet Japan in the last 16.
If fresh legs and fresh minds lead to a performance from his first XI that proves too good for Colombia, England would indeed then have a wonderful opportunity to progress to the latter stages of the World Cup, having played a game less than many of their opponents and avoided Brazil.
Southgate will, of course, insist that he was not thinking about who England might meet in the last eight. His strategy was simply to arrive at the knockout stages of the tournament having essentially played two games rather than three and concluding that the benefit of enjoying such a break outweighed the pros and cons of meeting Colombia, Senegal or Japan.
‘I think whoever we played we believe we’re capable of beating,’ he said. ‘Whoever we play are capable of — in a one-off game — beating us. But we had to make a decision we felt gave us the best opportunity of preparing the whole squad for that game.
‘It’s exciting. It will be a brilliant game to be involved in. Colombia have some top players, particularly in attack. But we also have some really good players who are full of belief and looking forward to this challenge.’
Even if the strategy backfires, it is hard not to admire Southgate for the belief he continues to display. He remains self-assured.
He again stressed the importance of giving as many players as possible minutes on the pitch, and the positive effect that has on squad morale.
‘You have to be bold enough to accept that might come with questions at times,’ he added. ‘But if we believe it’s the right thing to do, then we stand by it.’