England manager Gareth Southgate is adamant he is the right man to lead the team into the World Cup despite a woeful run of form.
Defeat to Italy on Friday condemned the Three Lions to relegation in the Nations League, extending the winless streak to five matches in the process.
Southgate was jeered by England s travelling supporters at San Siro but, despite being under the most pressure he has been in his six-year stint in charge, believes he remains the best choice to take the team to Qatar.
Without a doubt. We re playing and have been playing some top-level sides and we will be better for that, he said.
And the younger players, in particular, that have been in these games will have learned a lot from them.
In the past we ve had runs of friendlies or whatever the matches are and then we ve gone into tournaments and that s the first time we ve hit high-level opposition and it s hit us in the face quite often.
Now we know the level, now we know what we ve got to improve and we ll be better placed for that by having had the quality of matches that we ve had.
5 England have gone five matches without a win for the first time since 2014, and have gone five competitive matches without winning for the first time since 1992. Slump.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Southgate s views were echoed by England captain Harry Kane, who is confident the Three Lions will be back to their best in time for the start of the tournament in November.
I believe we are going to be judged on how we perform out in Qatar. We re just in one of those moments where it s not quite going our way. We re confident we can turn that around, he stated.
We have one more game on Monday to try to get some good feelings back. Ultimately, once we get to the World Cup, we will be ready for that first game and be fully focused on that.
I don t think our confidence has been dented, but you want to win games. We are all experienced enough, with our clubs especially we have been through those moments when things haven t been going so well. It s about bouncing back.
