The ESPN FC crew were left unimpressed by both sides and the atmosphere in England’s 3-0 win over Scotland.
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But when asked at a post-match news conference whether he had done enough to seal the deal with the Football Association, the former Aston Villa and Middlesbrough defender said: “That’s not my decision”.
After a pre-match minute of silence, the Scots pressed with goal from kickoff but they couldn’t keep it up and fell behind in the 24th minute.
Critics will say he has faced no serious test in his three matches to date, but Southgate has steered a listing ship through choppy waters and is now warming to the task.
England’s commitment to playing the ball out from the back gave Scotland hope in the early skirmishes, with Jamie Forrest taking a pot-shot at Joe Hart.
“But the players believe in the manager, enjoy working for him and know how passionate he is”.
But after Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson had seen penalty appeals turned down, England took a 24th-minute lead.
But Rooney and England are going to have to be much better than this if they are to be taken seriously come finals time.
The defeat was already ensured, but England should have rubbed further salt into Scotland’s wounds but Sterling somehow scooped his finish over from nearly under the cross bar. Sam Allardyce then hung everybody on a string before confirming the Manchester United man would of course keep the captain’s armband. Having recalled him to the first XI after the 0-0 draw with Slovenia, Gareth Southgate will be no more than moderately happy with his skipper’s performance despite the convincing nature of the result against the old enemy. On the back of exactly one passable performance for his club side, Rooney found himself back leading England out on Friday and did nearly nothing to justify his selection.
A trio of headers from Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana and Gary Cahill ensured a 3-0 victory on Friday that appeared far more convincing on the scoreboard than the actual performance by England in the 113th meeting of worldwide football’s oldest rivals. “That’s the most important thing so that’s where my concentration lies at this moment”.
Quite fittingly, Sturridge and Cahill were also on target in a 3-0 friendly victory over Peru back in May 2014 – with the Liverpool striker opening the scoring around the half-hour mark. But some of our attacking interplay was very exciting. Scotland’s embattled coach Gordon Strachan eschewed all concern for himself in an outpouring of sympathy for players he claimed did not deserve their fate. “I’ve really enjoyed the role and the responsibility”.
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Do you expect Southgate to be handed the role on a permanent position?
