Gareth Southgate is laying foundations for the future as young England side stop Neymar and Brazil

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James Olley15 November 2017

There have been plenty of England friendlies to dull the senses like this in recent years but Gareth Southgate will point to a plan emerging to make his team competitive at next summer’s World Cup.

It is almost eight months since Southgate first experimented with a 3-5-2 system and in the interim it has become his default selection in this year’s series of high-profile friendlies.

Such was Brazil’s quality with the ball and ferocity in their pressing without, England effectively operated with a five-man defence for long spells at Wembley last night. Yet despite the level of opposition and sizeable alterations to Southgate’s enforced starting line-up, they retained their shape and fought admirably to the last.

There was little sign of the attacking verve which peppered Friday’s goalless draw against Germany and England’s ability to cause the best sides consistent problems remains a significant cause for concern.

Brazil are streets ahead in that regard. There was a samba rhythm in the yellow corner of Wembley accompanying orchestrater-in-chief Neymar, as Brazil dominated possession throughout and probed for an opening.

Too often in recent years, the appropriate soundtrack to England’s use of the ball was the theme tune to ‘Steptoe and Son’; there was little to change the tune here, although Southgate’s youngsters at least attempted to counter-attack with pace, even if they were often wasteful in their sporadic raids.

The sight of England ceding territory and possession like this is incompatible with the front-foot, progressive ‘England DNA’ philosophy of which Southgate is a heavily invested student and one which has yielded great international success at youth level this year.

But that remains a longer-term goal for England’s senior side. They are firmly a work in progress in that regard - Harry Kane’s absence was especially felt in the last few days - but back-to-back goalless draws against the two best sides in the world in these circumstances must rank as a positive way to sign off for the calendar year.

“Against Germany, we were more than just a counter-attack,” Southgate told Standard Sport.

“We built well and we played through midfield. We created chances through good play. Last night was different. We just couldn’t get the one or two passes to get out of the press. They attack with such numbers that when they turn the ball over, they are around you and press aggressively. We couldn’t make those first couple of passes to get out and retain the ball.

“We did that a little bit better in the second half but I we were anxious with the ball. When you play teams of that quality, at times you are going to have to defend and soak it up. We are a team that can counter-attack, so I don’t think it is a disgrace to have to do that.

“We would like to have more control of possession in the game but we weren’t able to. We can improve that, for definite, but you have got to have a base to build from. We have backed up the best defensive record in European qualifying by keeping clean sheets against the two best teams in the world and that gives us a start to go forward because I do believe we have got players who can score goals.”

In Pictures | England vs Germany | 10/11

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Southgate has grown into the job this year, too. Twelve months ago, England finished for the winter hiatus with a 2-2 draw against Spain to complete Southgate’s four-match spell in temporary charge.

The reluctance and timidity with which he stepped into the role vacated by Sam Allardyce last year is fast becoming a distant memory. Roy Hodgson facilitated a significant overhaul of the squad during his four years at the helm, driving down the average age of the squad, but Southgate has accelerated that process.

England can now switch between a 4-2-3-1 and this 3-5-2 with a degree of confidence and that tactical versatility is long overdue for a team too long synonymous with a flat 4-4-2.

Equally, there are signs of progress in restoring pride among fans for this team. Persistent heartbreak makes all of us cautious but there are signs of progress to reignite the attraction.

That progress must, of course, continue. Better entertainment would not go amiss. Southgate must hope clubs have taken heed of his willingness to entrust youth and give them the same chance domestically.

England will have to actually beat some of these top sides before anyone purports the notion they can trouble the favourites at a major tournament but Southgate has helped shift the conversation away from talk of shallow talent pools to debating which young guns deserve a chance in Russia.

Joe Gomez is the latest to enter the picture with purpose, after coming into the most frequent direct contact with Neymar yet emerging with considerable credit on his full England debut.

This was only the third time in 17 matches under Tite that Brazil have failed to score. The 56-year-old hailed England’s defensive unit, claiming “they are like ice, they are really cold and they never lose their minds”.

From losing to Iceland at Euro 2016 to being described as ice-cool under pressure by the coach of one of the best around. England still have it all to prove when it matters most but that assessment will help Southgate believe the foundations are being laid.

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