Al Khor (Qatar). Gareth Southgate, the England coach, played down the draw against the United States and said that most teams in the world they will need all three games to qualify.
«I am delighted with the work of the players and with how they have applied the match plan, because they have played against a very difficult opponent. We have controlled the ball well, the central defenders have moved the ball very well. We lacked quality in the last quarter games and we didn’t create much danger,” Southgate said at a press conference.
“I want our fans to go home happy, but we didn’t get that today. I can’t let my team get affected by that. You have to qualify and there are three games for that, most teams are going to need all three games. Not many teams get past the group stage with nine points, we have a good chance to qualify and to be first”, he added.
Southgate threw balls out when asked about the boos that were heard during various moments of the game. “Did they boo us? I don’t know if they were directed at us.”
Asked about his decision not to include Phil Foden With the score 0-0, Southgate said they preferred the speed of Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish to hold the ball, take pressure off other players and force free kicks.
“I have not been surprised (United States) at all. I knew they were going to be very motivated. There are players that some play here in England, we know them. His physique, his way of playing, is as I expected. I think we answered a lot of the questions we were asked, but not all of them.”
