LONDON: Gareth Southgate claimed England have taken a “step in the right direction,” but relegation from the top tier of the Nations League suggests the Three Lions’ are sliding.
Southgate has just 59 days to stop the rot before England’s World Cup starts in Qatar, but there was little evidence of the tide turning in a 1-0 defeat to an experimental Italy at the San Siro on Friday.
Germany’s visit to Wembley for a Nations League dead rubber on Monday is England’s only match before the World Cup.
Rather than use a final chance for experimentation, Southgate doubled down on his principles in Milan. He suggested he will do likewise in Qatar.
“I compromised certain decisions internally, and you don’t win if you compromise,” said Southgate of England’s run of four games in June that produced just two points and one goal.
The back three that got England to the World Cup semifinals in 2018 and the Euro 2020 final just 14 months ago was restored, with Harry Maguire at the heart of it despite his lack of game time for Manchester United.
Although Southgate said the performance was much improved from the summer, the same problems persisted.
England were toothless in attack, taking their run without scoring from open play to 495 minutes, and prone to lapses in concentration at the back.
Once again the array of creative talent at Southgate’s disposal either failed to deliver on the international stage, or were left out entirely.
Without a win in five competitive games for the first time since 1992, England join San Marino as the only other side yet to have scored from open play in this edition of the Nations League.
As a result, next time round they will face the likes of Albania, Montenegro, Kazakhstan and Georgia rather than Germany, Spain and Italy.
But it is the danger of wasting the chance to win a World Cup with a richly talented squad in their prime years that is of most pressing concern to England fans.
Southgate worked wonders in building a structure for success after the embarrassment of a Euro 2016 exit to Iceland.
He led his country to a first World Cup semifinal for 28 years and then a first major final for 55 years.
Yet, the increasing evidence is that the peak of his time in charge may have come and England are hitting the downslope straight into a World Cup like no other.
“No cohesion, no shape, no belief. But no surprise what happened here in Milan,” wrote The Times’ Henry Winter. “England have a crop of good players being wasted by Southgate.”
That is a feeling shared among a fanbase that booed their manager at full-time.
In his defense, Southgate pleaded a much tougher run-in to a major tournament than any of his predecessors have faced.
Just eight days will separate the final round of Premier League fixtures from England’s opening game of the World Cup against Iran.
A soft looking group on paper, also featuring Wales and the United States, may give Southgate’s men the time they need to find their feet.
But failure to deliver even a consolation win at Wembley against Germany will likely see the Three Lions sent off to the World Cup with more abuse ringing in their ears than a show of support.
Southgate running out of time to arrest England slide
https://arab.news/gw2pv
Southgate running out of time to arrest England slide
- Southgate has just 59 days to stop the rot before England's World Cup starts in Qatar
- Germany's visit to Wembley for a Nations League dead rubber on Monday is England's only match before the World Cup
Canada’s Lee sets pace, Kim in the hunt for LIV Golf wild card spots
- LIV Golf Promotions in Florida offers top 3 finishers a chance to play in 2026 regular season
LECANTO: Canada’s Richard T. Lee has proved the player to watch during the first three days at LIV Golf Promotions and is now well-placed for a wild-card spot in the 2026 LIV Golf season.
Anthony Kim, meanwhile, found another gear on the back nine on Saturday, putting him in a better position to return to full-time status in the league.
The final 18 holes of the 36-hole shootout at Black Diamond Ranch take place on Sunday with a potentially career-changing reward for the top three finishers — guaranteed LIV Golf wild-card status for 2026. In addition, the top 10 and ties earn exemptions into the Asian Tour’s International Series.
For the second time this week, Lee led the field with a bogey-free 6-under 64. The 35-year-old will take a two-shot lead over his closest pursuers going into Sunday, giving him a significant advantage. However, he does not plan to take his foot off the gas.
“Honestly, I don’t think it would be comfortable for any player to have a two-shot lead on the last day,” said Lee, who has two eagles, 13 birdies and just one bogey in his 54 competitive holes this week. “I’ll just put my hat on and just play my golf.”
Kim is among three players who are tied for second after shooting a bogey-free 4-under 66, along with South Africa’s Oliver Bekker and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond. Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard is solo fifth after his 3-under 67, with five other players lurking at 1 under.
Kim, who played as a wild card in the past two seasons following his return to competitive golf after a 12-year retirement, was just 1 under through 12 holes on Saturday. But he made consecutive lengthy birdie putts at the 13th and 14th holes, birdied the par-5 16th, then saved par with a 15-footer at the par-4 18th that circled the cup before dropping.
“I have an opportunity to get one of those spots,” said the 40-year-old, the only American to advance to the weekend. “That’s what I asked for coming into this week and put myself in a good position. Now I’ve just got to go finish.”
Kim would not be in this position had he not made an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th on Friday to make the cut on the number.
“I knew that if I didn’t make birdie on 18 [Friday] that my chances of playing on LIV next year were gone, and to me that’s a big deal,” Kim said. “I’d like to play at the highest level against the best players. It meant a lot to me.”
Bekker was part of LIV Golf’s inaugural field at the 2022 London tournament. Four seasons later, he’s excited about the opportunity to return to the league as a full-time member.
“Thinking back on it now, I had the opportunity to play a few more events, and now I’m like, well, maybe I should have played them,” he said. “The water was a bit rough at that stage and didn’t know what was going to happen, so I played it a bit safe. Luckily, I’ve been given another opportunity this week, and hopefully I can take it.”
Janewattananond won four tournaments in 2019 when he became a top 50 world player and, aged 30, still has years left in his competitive career. After shooting a second-round 67 to advance to the weekend, he shot a 66 on Saturday that included four birdies in a six-hole stretch to end his front nine.
“It’s a very big prize at the end of the day,” he said. “Those three spots up for grabs, it would give me freedom to play wherever I want and security for my family.”
The 34-year-old Bjerregaard, a two-time winner on the DP World Tour, said earning full-time LIV Golf status would be career-changing.
“Where I am in my career right now, it’s probably that or retirement,” he said. “Yeah, that would mean a lot for sure.”
Although nothing is guaranteed, Lee has played so well this week that there may be just two spots available for the remainder of the field.
“We’re not playing for one spot,” said Janewattananond. “I don’t have to worry about him. I just have to worry about myself.”
“He played great today,” added Bjerregaard, playing in the same group as Lee on Saturday. “But I would be happy with any of the other two spots, so that’s fine. I can finish third. I wouldn’t mind.”
