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“This was a game that we wanted to win, but the knockout game is the biggest game for a decade for us so we had to make sure our key players were preserved,” he said.
“The players who’ve played tonight have given absolutely everything and never stopped. Everyone’s seen the level that we’ve been playing at and we’ve got to keep improving.
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| Gareth Southgate said he needed to ensure his players are fresh for their round-16 match |
Gareth Southgate has labelled England’s last-16 game against Colombia on Tuesday as their “biggest in a decade” after defeat to Belgium meant his team finished second in Group G.
Having made eight changes, including resting captain Harry Kane, the
England manager saw an Adnan Januzaj goal clinch victory and top spot
for a much-altered Belgium side.
Southgate, however, defended his team selection by claiming the Colombia clash in Moscow is England’s biggest in the last 10 years and that he needs his players fresh.
“This was a game that we wanted to win, but the knockout game is the biggest game for a decade for us so we had to make sure our key players were preserved,” he said.
“The players who’ve played tonight have given absolutely everything and never stopped. Everyone’s seen the level that we’ve been playing at and we’ve got to keep improving.
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“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.
“When you’re a leader and a manager, you have to make decisions which are right for your group and the primary objective. Sometimes those decisions will be criticised. I understand that.
“Only one person has to make that decision with all the full facts and managing a tournament in mind. Physically, medically, tactically for the benefit of the group – we have 20 outfield players who have played in the World Cup.
That’s extremely beneficial for the feeling in our camp. Sometimes you have to make decisions for the bigger picture. That’s what I did tonight.”
“When you’re a leader and a manager, you have to make decisions which are right for your group and the primary objective. Sometimes those decisions will be criticised. I understand that.
“Only one person has to make that decision with all the full facts and managing a tournament in mind. Physically, medically, tactically for the benefit of the group – we have 20 outfield players who have played in the World Cup.
That’s extremely beneficial for the feeling in our camp. Sometimes you have to make decisions for the bigger picture. That’s what I did tonight.”
England have
only won two World Cup knockout matches since 1990 and lost to Germany
in the last 16 of the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
Southgate
said: “We want to win football 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.
“We created openings to get something from the game, but we have to keep improving. I think the supporters know what the most important thing is.”
Southgate acknowledged he will face further scrutiny if England now lose to Colombia, but insisted the bigger risk would have been to play his established players against Belgium.
“We created openings to get something from the game, but we have to keep improving. I think the supporters know what the most important thing is.”
Southgate acknowledged he will face further scrutiny if England now lose to Colombia, but insisted the bigger risk would have been to play his established players against Belgium.
“Whatever happens next week, the selection was the right decision as
far as I’m concerned,” said Southgate.
“People will say it is only the right decision if we win, but we’re potentially going into a match with extra time having risked players we didn’t need to risk. Our key is a knockout game that we’re hugely looking forward to.
“Colombia have got some outstanding individuals, but I believe it’s a game we can win. We feel we’re a team who are improving.
We have levels still to reach and work to do, but that’s nothing we didn’t already know. That’s not a bad thing.
“People will say it is only the right decision if we win, but we’re potentially going into a match with extra time having risked players we didn’t need to risk. Our key is a knockout game that we’re hugely looking forward to.
“Colombia have got some outstanding individuals, but I believe it’s a game we can win. We feel we’re a team who are improving.
We have levels still to reach and work to do, but that’s nothing we didn’t already know. That’s not a bad thing.
“If we’d won again tonight, the reality of where we are might not have
been in people’s mind. We know where we are.
We know how immaculate we
have to be to win matches against the best teams and we know that
challenge is still to come.”
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| Marcus Rashford failed to take his chances in front of goal |
John
Stones was replaced by Harry Maguire at half-time but Southgate insisted
the defender was not injured. “We couldn’t rotate everyone,” he said.
“We wanted him and Harry Maguire to have 45 minutes and both were
excellent. No injury concerns for John.”
Roberto Martinez, the Belgium manager, had claimed ahead of the match
that winning against England and topping the group was not a priority
for his team.
But Martinez insisted he was delighted with Belgium’s performance
and is focused on beating Japan in the last-16 before worrying about the
rest of the draw and a possible meeting with Brazil in the
quarter-finals.
“It would have been easier to stay in Moscow, with an extra day of
recovery,” said Martinez. “But we’re only concentrating on playing
Japan.
“If you start thinking about who you get in the next round, making
predictions is difficult. Germany are out. Spain finished top in the
last three minutes of their game.
This World Cup is very unpredictable,
so you have to look at yourself and how strong you can be as a team.
Japan now is the only priority we have.”