Southgate defends his team selection
ENGLAND RESERVES...0 BELGIUM RESERVES...1
GARETH SOUTHGATE branded England’s last-16 tie against Colombia as his 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 looking knock-out tie against the South Americans in Moscow on Tuesday. Southgate made a raft of alterations from the team who beat Panama 6-1, including leaving out tournament top scorer Harry
Kane. In the lead-up to the game, the England boss spoke about his desire to win and top the group but his team selection — and the fact he did introduce Kane after falling behind to Adnan Januzaj’s goal — suggested differently. Southgate admitted he had one eye on the second round. ‘We want to win matches, so we’re not happy to come away from here having been beaten,’ he said. ‘But what that means for the next round, we don’t really know. ‘The knock-out game is the biggest game for a decade, so we had to make sure our key players were preserved. We had half an eye on the knockout. I think the supporters know what the most important thing is. We are not happy to be beaten but we had double objectives tonight.’ Southgate is confident the defeat will not stop the momentum gained from wins over Tunisia and Panama. ‘No, I don’t think so. We talked about momentum but momentum shifts in games and I think we kept pressing right to the end,’ he said. However, Marcus Rashford fears the defeat could have a detrimental impact. He said: ‘I think 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. We’ve not played against that system much since we’ve been in our system, so it’s a good test. But we have to move on.’ On his team’s performance, Southgate added: ‘I think it was a pretty even game. I thought they had the better controlled possession, and the better chances in the first half. ‘But we had a couple of good ones in the second. So it was a good test of us. Marcus Rashford and Jamie Vardy kept running. ‘It didn’t happen for them tonight, but we don’t suffer for it. We created openings to get something from the game, but we have to keep improving. ‘The players who have played tonight have given everything and they never stopped. Everyone’s seen the level that we’ve been playing at and we’ve got to keep improving.’ Meanwhile, Sunderland midfielder Wahbi Khazri scored the winner as Tunisia came from behind to beat Panama 2-1 in Saransk. Fakhreddine Ben Youssef had equalised after Panama went ahead through a Yassine Meriah own goal.