Gareth Southgate has vowed to use England’s heartening performances at the World Cup as a springboard to success after seeing his side beaten by Belgium to finish fourth and emulate their best finish on foreign soil.
The manager did not deviate from his script preaching realism after his side exceeded expectations through the tournament and stretched a fine Belgium team, particularly in the second half. Goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard eventually secured Roberto Martínez’s side their best ever finish at the finals, though Southgate can spy a bright future for his young side.
“We are very realistic about the level we are,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of praise, which has been nice, but also balanced with that a lot of reality as well. We don’t kid ourselves at all. We know exactly the areas where we hope to get better. We’re not in club football where we have a chequebook to buy new players. We have to coach and develop, and the players need a willingness to learn and improve, and they’ve shown that in the last seven weeks in particular. That continues, but we leave here having progressed a lot.
“It’s nice to reach a semi-final because that builds belief and gives momentum to the team. There’s some evidence that they can have success, and they can feel that and commit to the England shirt. But we need to keep improving. We now have some big fixtures in the autumn, playing the likes of Spain, Switzerland and Croatia. They are great opportunities for us to develop, improve, try things, look at players.
“We’ve finished in the final four, but we’re not a top-four team yet. Against the very best teams, we’ve come up short. But we’ve had a wonderful adventure and some experiences which will stand this group of players and staff in good stead for the future. We have to try to constantly evolve and improve. We’ve done that, particularly over the last eight months, and we’ve ended up having a brilliant adventure here.
“Every member of our party, players and staff, has enjoyed it immensely. That’s what we keep having to do: review how we play, how might we improve, what we can get better at. That’s what we will do.”
Southgate and his players will fly to Birmingham on Sunday with their relationship with the fanbase strengthened. “We have put a lot into the last two years to get to this point,” Eric Dier said. “There were so many bridges that needed to be rebuilt after the Euros and we have managed to do things that England teams haven’t done for a long time, so we are very proud of that.
“There is still a lot of work to be done to improve as a collective and as individuals. But it has been a fantastic experience, and one we will remember and learn from.”