Gareth Southgate’s England masterplan ahead of the World Cup and WSL’s blockbuster weekend – The Warm-Up

MONDAY’S BIG STORIES Gareth Southgate, tactical genius Ad Don’t you know it’s all a ruse? A major play? Arguably the greatest tactic Gareth Southgate has deployed in his six years of managing England? What do you mean that’s not saying much? How dare you. He got us to a World Cup semi-final and European final, don’t you know! Yes. We did.

What do you mean the draws were favourable? Anyway. Do you think Jack Grealish will start in Qatar? No, no, it's not the time, let's stop waffling on. UEFA Nations League‘The performance is a step in the right direction’ – Southgate on Italy defeat23/09/2022 AT 21:53 He ain’t going anywhere, let’s get that straight.

For now, at least. The defeat to Italy on Friday may have dampened the spirits even more so ahead of the World Cup, but Southgate will very much be in charge for that tournament, and maybe even beyond. «I think I'm the right person to take the team into the tournament,” he told the Sunday papers.

“I think it's more stable that way, without a doubt.” And so, only from the lowest of lows can the highs feel oh so sweet, and lowering the expectations of England fans is not necessarily a bad thing heading into a major tournament. Sure, there are very real concerns that the state of play is so bad that a group exit, or more likely a last-16 loss to Senegal, is on the cards, but tournament football is a funny old game, and England still have the players to go a long way, regardless of the tactics and formations thrown at them. That said, let’s see how tonight plays out.