Gareth Southgate Wary of USMNT Threat

England players and manager Gareth Southgate in November 2022
England players and manager Gareth Southgate in November 2022. Photo by Kieran McManus/Shutterstock (13622602er)

England manager Gareth Southgate has warned that his team will need to improve defensively when they take on the United States in their next Group B World Cup match on Friday night.

The Three Lions manager expressed concern at the fact that his team conceded twice in their 6-2 win against Iran, and while England showed strength in attack, Team USA “will be coming full-throttle”.

“Look, we are really pleased to start the tournament in this way, really pleased with our attacking play,” Southgate commented during England’s post-match conference before changing his tune. “I didn’t like the end of the game. To concede two goals the way we did isn’t the level we need. We are going to have to be better than we were today in certain aspects of our game against the USA because they are going to be coming for us full-throttle and we are going to have to reset.”

In addition, Southgate revealed that striker and England captain Harry Kane was substituted because of illness. While Kane was spotted leaving the stadium with a light strapping on his right ankle, Southgate confirmed that the star attacker is fine.