World Cup

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World Cup Qualifying - Europe | Group Stage

Oct 8, 2017 at 5pm UK

Lithuania Lithuania
0-1
England

FT(HT: 0-1)

Kane (27' pen.)

Gareth Southgate: England "flat" after uninspiring victory

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 08 October 2017

Gareth Southgate admits that improvement is needed after England struggled to break down Lithuania on Sunday evening, coming away from Vilnius with a slender 1-0 win.

England manager Gareth Southgate has admitted that he and his player are feeling "a bit flat" following another uninspiring display to overcome Lithuania.

For the second World Cup qualifier running, it was left to captain Harry Kane to spare the Three Lions' blushes by scoring the only goal of the game.

England's 1-0 victory in Vilnius extends their unbeaten run in meaningful qualifiers to a decade, but Southgate understands the frustration of supporters after seeing his side register just four shots on target against a team ranked 120th in the world.

"We wanted to score a load of goals and when you don't, you understand the reaction," he told reporters. "We've won two matches and after both we've come away a bit flat. We've not been able to break down a packed defence, but the change of system is a starting point. We'll get better at that.

"But there was very little space to play in. We played a packed defence who don't even come out at 1-0 down, and we have to find a way of combating that. We didn't manage to do that. For me, the qualification was done and it was the time to change the system and look at the implementation of that, looking at players who can take us forward.

"We've got some good attacking players who will score goals, and the challenges of the games going forward will be different. The style of the games, different. We'll be tested defensively, but there'll be a bit more space to play in, even though we'll be playing against a better quality of opposition.

"Our defenders need a different sort of challenge. They need to play out under more pressure, and to do defend against top strikers. That's part of their learning journey. If we're going to go with young players, how are they going to improve if they don't play against the best?"

England, who finished their qualifying campaign with eight wins and two draws, face Germany and Brazil in two high-profile friendlies at Wembley Stadium in November.