Gareth Southgate ‘understands’ boos but insists England performance was ‘step in the right direction’ despite Italy defeat

Gareth Southgate says he ‘understands’ the reaction of England fans after being booed following his side’s defeat in Italy.

The Three Lions fell to a 1-0 loss at the San Siro on Friday night, a result that relegated them from their Nations League group.

More worryingly, however, it extended a dismal run of form with no wins in their last five games with the World Cup in Qatar now looming large.

After the final whistle, Southgate approached the away end to applaud England’s travelling support but was greeted by boos after a frustrating evening for those who had made the journey.

‘It’s really difficult to pinpoint why we are not scoring. I think we are getting into the right areas,’ Southgate said. ‘We had the moments where we would have the pass but we just didn’t deliver that final piece of quality tonight.

‘I understand the reaction at the end because that’s the results we have had in this competition. It’s an understandable emotional reaction.’

Giacomo Raspadori’s 68th minute strike was the difference on the night with England failing to fashion a real chance on goal of note.

England have now gone three games without a goal for the first time since November 2000 and are on a run of 495 minutes without a goal in open play since Raheem Sterling netted against the Ivory Coast in March.

Despite another toothless performance, Southgate was encouraged by the display and described it as ‘a step in the right direction’.

‘It’s difficult for me to be too critical of the performance. We had more possession, more shots, more shots on target,’ he said.

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