Southgate urges England to go better
Kane goal sends World Cup semi-finalists into Nations League final four
Gareth Southgate has challenged his vibrant young England side to build on a year to remember after they clinched a place in the Nations League semi-finals in dramatic style.
Southgate’s team won back their place in the nation’s hearts over the course of a remarkable 2018 that saw them reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1990.
Although that World Cup run ended with an agonising extratime loss to Croatia, Southgate and his players have refused to be defined by failure in the way that their more vaunted predecessors in the Three Lions shirt often were. So when Andrej Kramaric gave Croatia the lead against the run of play in the second half of Sunday’s winner-takes-all ■ shoot-out at Wembley, it was a coming of age moment for England’s prodigies. They rose to the challenge as Jesse Lingard came off the bench to equalise before captain Harry Kane poked in the 85th-minute winner.
The England manager credits his squad for keeping a humble approach amid all the recent plaudits. “The World Cup was far bigger than the Nations League,” he said. “But you have to look at the next challenge. Next year now looks like a really exciting time to be involved with England. That feeling around the team is powerful and we have to build on that.”.