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After England’s UEFA Nations League defeat against Italy, the Three Lions were relegated to the lower tier of the tournament. The English team has now faced a lot of criticism as they have been without a win or even a goal from open play in their last five matches less than two months before 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
But despite these concerns, England manager Gareth Southgate believes that he is the right man for the job. While talking to the media, the Middlesbrough F.C manager said that England’s performance against Italy wasn’t their worst and the team can improve after a run of defeats.
He said, "Look, I think that's currently where it is and I have to accept that," he said of the negative vibe as Qatar approaches. "I think I'm the right person to take the team into the tournament. I think it's more stable that way, without a doubt. I don't think (the) performance (against Italy) was far off and I know that's going to get derision just because we're on the back of a run of defeats.”
Southgate further added that he is confident that England will come together when the finals come around. He said: "Yeah, without a doubt. We're playing and have been playing some top-level sides and we will be better for that. And the younger players, in particular, that have been in these games will have learned a lot from them.”
Similarly, Harry Kane has told England supporters that they don’t need to worry over this slump in results ahead of the World Cup. He said, "I think so. We're not panicking. We know we want to improve. Of course, I understand the frustration of the fans."
"I was an England fan and still am an England fan whether I'm playing or not. If we have a successful tournament I'm not sure people will be worried about the spell we had over the summer, and that's the bottom line,” Kane added.