Ikoli Victor
Doha
After a relatively easy opener against Iran, England manager Gareth Southgate warned that he expects a different level of opposition from the United States when the two teams meet in a crucial group match on Friday.
“I think today’s game will be very different to the first match,” said Southgate.
“They are a team that press the ball really well and who have, with respect, probably a level of players that have more experience of playing in top-level European leagues.”
“In terms of today’s game, it’s not going to be the pattern of the previous one.”
Southgate stated that he would not get carried away after England’s convincing victory on Monday, the largest margin for the English team.
“We’re good at talking highly of ourselves as a nation and on the basis of very little evidence,” he added. “What we’ve got to do is perform on the field.”
“We know we’ll be playing a highly motivated team, but we’ve got huge respect for our opponents, we know a lot of them from our league and we know the quality and athleticism they have,” the England coach said.
“The risk for us is that we think because we played well the other day we can just go through to the next game. “We’ve got to find that reset button to have the same psychology and determination. So I don’t think we will be underestimating the USA team at all.”
Southgate said it would be a “brave decision” to leave Harry Kane out of England’s starting lineup against the United States after confirming the striker had passed a fitness test.
In England’s 6-2 win over Iran on Monday, Kane was injured by a sloppy challenge by Morteza Pouraliganji.
“Harry’s good,” he said. “He came through training, no problems, so it would be a brave decision to leave him out of the starting team.”
Southgate also has immense respect for US coach Gregg Berhalter, who has sought advice from the England boss on several occasions.
“I’ve enjoyed my interactions with Gregg. I’ve learned a lot from him. They have progressed a lot under him, as I expected.”
Harry Maguire, one of Southgate’s dependable players, will win his 50th cap against the US on Friday, and while the Manchester United defender has been the target of criticism almost since his debut, Southgate had nothing but praise for him.
“We wanted to build our team to have the capability to play from the back and Harry and John Stones, who have played the majority of the matches across the last five years, have provided an incredible platform to build on.
“We won’t appreciate what stability that’s given us in possession until they’re not there. And that’s the start point, as they also defend well and fight for each other.”
Southgate said, “It’s great for Harry to get this 50th cap, it’s well deserved. He’s played a major part of us getting two big tournament performances and we all want this to be the third.”
The Manchester United defender was questioned about his fitness and relevance to both club and country, but he remained unfazed, saying, “I have great belief in myself on the training pitch, I give my all, I give my best.”
