BIGGEST MATCH FOR A DECADE
Southgate swallows defeat and primes his players for Colombia
GARETH Southgate branded England’s last-16 tie against Colombia as the country’s ‘ biggest for a decade’ as he staunchly defended his decision to make eight changes against Belgium last night.
The loss to Roberto Martinez’s side meant England finished second in Group G, setting up a difficult knockout clash against the South Americans in Moscow on Tuesday.
Southgate’s changes to the team who beat Panama 6-1 on Sunday included leaving out tournament top scorer Harry Kane.
The England manager spoke about his desire to win the game and finish top of the group beforehand, but his selection and the fact he did not introduce Kane after falling behind to Adnan Januzaj’s goal suggested differently.
Marcus Rashford expressed concerns that England could find it difficult to recover psychologically from the defeat. Nevertheless, Southgate offered no apologies for fielding an understrength team.
He said: ‘We want to win matches, so we’re not happy to come away from here having been beaten. But what that means for the next round, we don’t really know.
‘The knockout game is the biggest game for a decade, so we had to make sure our key players were preserved. If someone had raked Harry’s ankle if we’d put him on for 10 minutes, that would have been ridiculous.
‘ The knockout game is the important one. We had half an eye on that and the supporters know what the most important thing is. We are not happy to be beaten but we had double objectives.
‘Our primary objective was a mid-term one: we got everyone time on the pitch and they are ready to start or come into a match having played. Those who have played before have been protected.
‘We have everyone to select from going into the knockout. You have to look at the bigger picture and make decisions which, in some quarters, might be criticised. But everyone understands in the dressing room what we’re trying to do. Whatever happens next week, the selection was the right decision as far as I’m concerned.’
Southgate, who confirmed John Stones is not an injury worry after his calf was heavily strapped following his half-time substitution, is confident that the loss to Belgium will not stop the momentum gained from the wins over Tunisia and Panama.
‘No, I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘We talked about momentum but momentum shifts in games and we kept pressing right to the end.
‘Of course we have a responsibility to the fans and the support in the stadium was outstanding. The support and encouragement from home has been brilliant. But when you’re a leader and a manager, you have to make decisions which are right for your group and the primary objective.
‘One person has to make that decision with the full facts and managing a tournament in mind. Physically, medically, tactically for the benefit of the group.
‘Maybe we could have pushed a bit more by putting other players into the game but we still created chances.
‘We had one fantastic chance to tie the game. I’m entirely comfortable with the decision. Sometimes you have to make decisions for the bigger picture. That’s what I did.’
However, Rashford fears the defeat could have a detrimental impact. He said: ‘The main thing is sometimes it’s difficult to keep the positivity and the spirits up, especially after a defeat.
‘But we played against a good team with a strong identity and way of playing. It was a good test for us. We’ve not played against that system much since we’ve been in our system. But now we have to move on.’
Former England striker Gary Lineker took to Twitter to question Southgate’s decision to make wholesale changes.
However Gary Neville, who was part of the England backroom staff that flopped at Euro 2016, defended Southgate, saying: ‘It’s brave. Everyone’s talked about how England must play the strongest team, must top the group, don’t mess around, but they have done just that. He’s misled us over the last two days and I like that. He’s gone up in my estimation and he’s taken a risk.’
On the prospect of facing Colombia, Southgate added: ‘They’ve got some outstanding individuals but I believe it’s a game we can win. We