Gareth Southgate defends decision to be tactically ‘fearless’ because that's exactly what he wants from England

Southgate is asking his players to be fearless and says its important he is the same

Gareth Southgate says it’s all the more important his managerial decisions are “fearless” because that is exactly what he is asking from his players. The England manager took another adventurous move in the last week, switching from the 3-5-2 that had been so successful at the World Cup to a more expansive 4-3-3. It follows on from an initial decision to trust youth, play attacking football and even put in a young ball-playing goalkeeper in Jordan Pickford.

So much of this was almost personified by Pickford in the sensational 3-2 win away to Spain. The goalkeeper failed in one Cruyff turn in his own box, almost getting caught by Paco Alcacer for a move that could have brought a Spanish goal or a penalty, but Southgate insisted that mindset is essential to then get the benefits like the goalkeeper’s two brilliant long-range passes that resulted in the first and second goals.

It was put to Southgate whether such an approach feels “risky” to him.

“Well, we're asking the players to be fearless, and if we're asking that, you've got to embody that as a leader. But also I wouldn't pick them if I didn't think they could play, you know, you've got to see when they're playing with their clubs and when you see them in training that they can handle the ball, and we're not asking them to do something that's beyond them. But then you've got to give them the belief as well to go and do it, and I think collectively that belief is starting to come.”

Southgate said he hoped the win in Sevilla would make the team believe they can play with that fearlessness more regularly.

“I hope for the players, most of all. When we talk to the goalkeeper about having the extra touch and the game will open up in front of you and to have that composure to play the passes he did was top and that sets the tone then for the team. If your goalkeeper can’t do that, you can’t play that way. Simple.

England manager wants his side to be fearless (Action Images via Reuters)

"So for all of them we know the technical ability they have. We know the technical ability of some of the young players coming through our system, so it is possible to play that way. If you don’t have the players with that technique, then you can’t. But we believe we have and then it is about the mentality to go out and do it and tonight they really showed that mentality.

“For some of the players especially, it is a night they have to take forward with them. They have caused huge problems to some very good players and they have showed courage with their mentality towards the game as well because there are a couple of players in their team who have got more caps between them than our entire squad. And the danger is you allow them to run the game and run the referee and everything else. We didn’t allow that to happen and that pleased me probably as much as anything else.

“And [on Monday] against top opposition in quite a hostile environment, played with real courage right from the goalkeeper through the team had the courage to take the ball, we weren’t perfect, we conceded possession at times. But they were brave enough to keep doing it. To play out of that press that Spain put on you. The first couple of passes are so key, once you get out of that you’ve the chance to hurt them and our front three were exceptional.”