England immediately switch focus to Sweden World Cup clash as Gareth Southgate's composure rubs off on players

Star man: Jordan Pickford is at full stretch as he saves Carlos Bacca’s penalty to set up Eric Dier’s spot-kick heroics
AFP/Getty Images
James Olley4 July 2018

Barely an hour had passed after the end to one of England’s most dramatic evenings before Gareth Southgate began turning his attention to what comes next.

It was yet another measure of the 47-year-old’s meticulous attention to detail that has helped steer England to the quarter-finals and overcome a Colombia side determined to push them into the pitfalls of the past.

Amid a maelstrom of South American malevolence in Moscow, Southgate was the picture of calm all evening, transmitting an air of self-assurance and composure, and dropping his guard only briefly to embrace the euphoria of Eric Dier’s winning penalty, a release he felt more keenly than most, given his own shootout trauma.

“It was a night when I knew we were going to get over the line,” he said. “I just felt we had the resilience and belief to get over the line, whatever it was going to take.”

If only he had told the rest of us. Southgate’s England seemed hell-bent on shoehorning in decades of tournament phobias into one knockout match: refereeing controversy, late-goal heartache, agonising extra-time misses and, of course, penalties.

The sense of foreboding, of another opportunity spurned, could have consumed his players as extra-time concluded, pegged back at the end of 90 minutes by Yerry Mina’s header and unable to reassert meaningful control thereafter.

Southgate walked purposefully, but without undue concern, among his team, galvanised by unerring trust in the methodology that got them to this point and would give them the best chance of succeeding where so many England teams have faltered.

Shootouts are capricious by their nature, yet Southgate engendered a self-belief which persevered through Jordan Henderson’s miss, four well-struck penalties and one stunning save from Jordan Pickford.

He became the first England goalkeeper to save a penalty in a shootout for 20 years. England won their first-ever shootout at a World Cup, continuing the remarkable journey this young squad are embarking upon, redefining the national team as both uninhibited and more capable than many imagined.

Yet, rather than reflect on the distance travelled, Southgate voluntarily began discussing the next obstacle ahead: Sweden in Samara on Saturday.

“We’ve talked a lot about [the players] making their own history and I feel they have really bought into everything we’ve tried to do,” he said. “The composure they showed in their play in a big match under pressure was really impressive. For them, it was definitely a big moment and we want to capitalise on it now.

“I’m already thinking about the next game. I’d like a week to enjoy this one, but we haven’t got that. Sweden are a team I respect hugely. We’ve not got a good record against them and I think we’ve always underestimated them.

Tired: Southgate compared his dressing room to a scene from American television series M*A*S*H
REUTERS

“They have good players and a clear way of playing, which is bloody difficult to play against. They are greater than the sum of their parts, more often than not. So, that is a hugely difficult game for us because at the moment we are high as a kite. We need to recover, but what a great game for us to be in.”

Southgate underlined the draining effect of their efforts here by likening the England dressing room at the end to a scene from 1970’s American television series M*A*S*H, set in a field hospital during the Korean War. Dele Alli later learned of that reference and admitted he had no idea what Southgate was on about. This is a different generation, remember.

Alli looked short of his best but insisted match sharpness was no issue, despite missing England’s last two group games with a thigh injury. A cramping Kyle Walker came off during extra-time, while Harry Kane was among others showing signs of wear and tear. Samara will be an unforgiving setting, with temperatures reaching in excess of 35C in recent days. A 6pm local kick-off time will do little more than take the edge off.

Yet, England can approach that challenge with burgeoning optimism after banishing so many demons here. They will need to adjust to different conditions — just as they did against Panama in Volgograd — but adaptability is proving to be one of England’s strengths.

They continue to be one of the most VAR-savvy teams here. Conversations between players and officials began inside the first 10 minutes as Carlos Sanchez grappled with Kane in the box.

In Pictures | England's Jordan Pickford save vs Colombia's Bacca

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American referee Mark Geiger was slow to stamp out ill-discipline and Colombia played the role of errant children to perfection, seeing how far they could push their luck. Kane was eventually handed a 57th-minute penalty he dispatched for his sixth goal of the tournament, but not before Johan Mojica tried to scuff up the spot.

England were not saints. Harry Maguire and Jesse Lingard fell in the box under flimsy challenges, but if England were at risk of getting dragged into a street-fight, their subterfuge was only a footnote to the provocation they faced. One Russian journalist did not see it that way. “They fall every time the wind blows,” he told Southgate.

“Maybe we are getting a bit smarter,” Southgate responded. “Maybe we are now playing some of our game by the rules that the rest of the world are playing. But I think we also kept our dignity, our sportsmanship.”

England are fast becoming the embodiment of their manager: smart and composed. The most exciting part is we still don’t know how far that can take them.

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