I KNOW I’LL COP IT

Southgate: Knives will be out if we lose 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 by Belgium, the england manager realises he will be in for a rough ride if his side do not book a quarterfinal slot with victory over Colombia. had his team won Group G they would have faced Japan.

‘We had to make a decision we felt gave us the best opportunity preparing the whole squad for that game 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

REX Cycle of success: Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Kyle Walker celebrate victory in an exercise bike challenge yesterday