(Football news) England were relegated to League B in the UEFA Nations League after a disjointed 1-0 defeat to Italy at the Giuseppe Meazza. Boos were heard at the end of the match with concerns growing ahead of the World Cup in Qatar later this year. The Three Lions have failed to win in five games, their worst record in the last eight years and looked completely devoid of a spark, with the 3-4-3 system employed by Southgate making the team look unstable.
Despite Italy’s poor performances after their Euro 2020 victory over England which resulted in their failure to qualify for the World Cup, the gli Azzurri could have scored many more than the single goal from Giacomo Raspadori in the 68th minute. The biggest concern for England is that they have failed to score from open play in five games now, with San Marino being the only other team in the competition without a non-penalty goal. The closest they came was when Harry Kane was denied twice by Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from a tight angle.
The best player for England was Jude Bellingham while Phil Foden showed glimpses of skill. However, the Three Lions look far from an efficient unit and will now take on Germany at the Wembley Stadium in their next match on Monday, with pressure firmly piled on Gareth Southgate and his team. Struggling Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire put up another unconvincing performance and was beaten by Scamacca in the air just five minutes in.
Bukayo Saka at left wing-back was a tactic that completely backfired for England. Accustomed to playing on the right wing, the Arsenal player was left completely exposed in the first half and was caught out of position many times. In terms of attacking output in the first half, a Reece James deflected shot and a Harry Kane attempt that didn’t hit the target was all England had to show for themselves in the first half.
Speaking after the match, England manager Gareth Southgate said “It's difficult for me to be too critical of the performance. We had more possession, more shots, more shots on target. For large parts of the game we played very well. We didn't deal with the decisive moment defensively and we had moments where we could have been more decisive in their final third. Our quality wasn't quite right. It's a spell where ultimately results are going to be everything everyone reacts to but I thought there were lots of positive signs for us as a team.
“There were lots of good individual performances. The performance was a step in the right direction. But I completely understand that isn't going to be the reaction externally. We're not in an ideal situation in terms of numbers of players playing at the highest level but we've got to keep working at it and keep on track. There will be a huge amount of noise but that has been created from the summer and I totally understand that. The players know this was a game they could have won. If they take their chances and defend the goal better than we do win. It's fine margins against the biggest football nations and the fine margins are decisive.
"We are where we are in terms of the timing so we need to do the best we can in terms of keeping the guys on track. The reaction to what I say now will be guided by the result completely but we weren't far off in terms of performance. I have got to keep the players believing in what they are doing and keep them from being distracted by going into areas that aren't correct. That's the task I've got."
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