World Cup

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Attendance: 41,064

World Cup | Group Stage

Jun 18, 2018 at 7pm UK

Tunisia
1-2
England

Sassi (35' pen.)

FT(HT: 1-1)

Kane (11', 90+1')

Gareth Southgate: 'England players have embraced system'

By Jonny Whitfield, Reporter

Published: June 18 2018 | 13:11

Last updated: June 18 2018 | 20:34

Southgate: 'Players have embraced system'

England boss Gareth Southgate says that his players have "embraced" the system he put in place when taking over at the Three Lions.

England boss Gareth Southgate has said that his players have "embraced" the system he put in place when taking over at the Three Lions.

Southgate has used a 3-5-2 formation in the majority of fixtures since taking over from Sam Allardyce in September 2016.

The former England international told the Daily Mail that he is proud to see his side's progression ahead of their opening tie with Tunisia on Monday night.

"I didn't know how quickly we could progress," the manager said. "But we were clear in what we wanted to do and we knew the players were capable. Once we had that vision, selection became a lot clearer.

"Every training session becomes clearer, too. The players have embraced that. They like playing possession football. They have a hunger to press and win the ball back and they want to play brave football.

"They want to be a bold and attacking team. That's how I wanted them to play. That's why I joined the FA as an Under 21 coach. There was a perception of English football across the world and I wanted to change that. We did that with the youth team."

England's tie with Tunisia is followed by games against Panama and Belgium.