Sven-Goran Eriksson criticism levelled at Gareth Southgate after woeful England draw

Gareth Southgate has been told he is making the same mistake as Sven-Goran Eriksson in the wake of England's desperate draw against Denmark.

The performance in Frankfurt was arguably England's worst in a major tournament since the abject loss to Iceland at Euro 2016, despite Southgate naming the same starting XI that beat Serbia 1-0. Questions were raised over Southgate's decision to again field Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold out of their best positions, with the England boss admitting the latter's midfield role was an "experiment".

It is argued Southgate, just like former Manchester City boss Eriksson, is prioritising individual talent over team balance. The Swede was frequently criticised for his insistence on playing Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard together, often at the expense of Paul Scholes, who found himself shunted out to the left.

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Micah Richards, speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, believes Southgate's team is unbalanced, saying: "It's frustrating because there are so many good players. Do you have too much when you've got so many good players? Does it make it more difficult?

"I think Gareth, at the moment, is trying to get the best-rated players on the pitch, which is not necessarily best for the balance of the team. He's playing Foden, he's playing Trent, and we all called for them to be playing. We need a play in a system that suits them [the team] higher up the pitch."

England fans booed their team off the pitch at the final whistle and Southgate admitted that he and the players must accept the