England: Gareth Southgate all but secures full-time post

England’s convincing win over Scotland, courtesy of three headed goals, marked Gareth Southgate’s third match as interim head coach of the Three Lions. The 46-year-old can hope that FA’s headhunters quit searching for a full-time manager.

A former assistant coach to Sam Allardyce, Southgate was promoted to the England head coach position in September following a sports corruption scandal that resulted in the resignation of Allardyce after only one game in charge.

On Remembrance Day, England dominated their rivals from north of the border in the air, scoring three goals following crosses into the box. The scoreline, however, could not entirely mask England’s shortcomings.

Scotland surprisingly kept up with Southgate’s team for long spells of the match, often pressuring England with a high press. “Some of our first-phase possession play was sloppy. We caused our own problems and gave up more opportunities than we should have,” said Southgate afterwards.

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He can hardly be blamed for England’s long-standing sloppiness on the ball. Yet solving the structural problems in possession will be the major task for him if does he secure the full-time post.

Gordon Strachan’s side spurned three excellent chances which made the outcome of the match even more disappointing for the Scots. Led by central midfielders Darren Fletcher and Scott Brown, who was on his one-off night out of international retirement, the guests frequently interrupted the flow of England’s attacking plays.

Both English center-backs, John Stones and Gary Cahill, made careless mistakes causing danger for their team on several occasions. Minutes after England’s first goal, a mix-up between Jordan Henderson and Wayne Rooney resulted in Scotland’s Leigh Griffiths launching a counter-attack.

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The 26-year-old center-forward, however, chose to shoot instead of putting Robert Snodgrass clear on goal. A better side would have been more clinical. But the Scots continue to lack a world-class talent up front, while Southgate has several at his disposal.

Daniel Sturridge, who was selected over Tottenham‘s Harry Kane, scored the opening goal. Raheem Sterling caused all sorts of trouble as he was too quick on his feet for the Scottish defenders who unsuccessfully tried to bully him.

Left-back Lee Wallace, especially, looked like the weak point in the Scottish line-up, as he failed to prevent Sterling from drifting inside and picking up balls in the danger zone. Following the half-time break, Scotland could have made a comeback in this match, as Snodgrass and James Forrest missed two clear chances.

Moments later, Adam Lallana extended England’s lead by converting Danny Rose’s cross. Cahill with a headed goal from the edge of the six-yard box following a Rooney corner kick made it three. “That’s what you get from world-class players,” said Strachan.

After the second successive three-goal defeat, his tenure could come to an end. The Scots are virtually out of the World Cup running. Whether or not Strachan is allowed to remain in charge, the new generation led by RB Leipzig forward Oliver Burke, gives all Scottish fans hope for better times. Meanwhile, Southgate can already bank on a young squad.

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It is certainly not a lack of high-level technique that causes sloppiness in England’s matches. Seeing Lallana being dispossessed a few yards outside his own penalty area or his defenders struggling to build from the back certainly concerns the current interim coach.

Southgate has to deal with the failures of the past and needs time to improve England’s attacking game.

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