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Southgate: "I'd say we're definitely further ahead than we were heading into Russia. But we made massive strides in this period when we went into Russia" 

Gareth Southgate believes England are in a better place heading into Euro 2020 than they were ahead of the World Cup, but there remains plenty of work to do after ending qualification with victory in Kosovo.

England secured their place among the six top seeds for the Euro 2020 draw by triumphing 4-0 in Pristina, where Harry Winks and Mason Mount opened their international accounts alongside Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford efforts.

England's latest emphatic Group A win took their overall tally for 2019 to 38 goals - a haul only bettered by the 39 scored in 1908 - as captain Kane became the country's first player to net in every qualification match. Southgate's men have averaged 3.8 goals per game and are among the favourites for Euro 2020 on the back of runs to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and this year's Nations League.

I mean "I would say that we're definitely further ahead than we were heading into Russia" manager Southgate said. "But we made massive strides in this period when we went into Russia.
"So, we've got to make sure that to get the level of performance next summer, we're going to have to improve in the way that we did over that spell as well. And I think the team have belief, for sure, you can see the confidence.

"I said last night, they don't come into these matches worrying about what might go wrong, they've got the confidence to control games with possession, and they know they're going to score goals. So, yes, what we don't know, because we haven't had those tests more recently against the top eight or 10, is exactly how we're going to cope in those moments.

"And to win the European Championship is, at the moment, no easier than the World Cup. The final four were all European, and you've got to add Spain, Germany, Portugal and all the others into that, so it's a really high-level tournament."

Southgate, whose side were already assured of top spot in Group A, was pleased to see England given a "good test" in difficult playing conditions after battling their way to victory in Pristina.
"I think it was a tight game," he said. "It was a good test for us really. Difficult pitch, in particular, lots of people slipping and a few passes went astray. But we needed a tighter game. It was the sort of challenge I was pleased we got.

"We had to withstand spells of pressure, gave them a few half-chances that on another night could be more of a problem, but in the end our counter-attacking was absolutely ruthless.
"Goals per game we're the top scorers in Europe so that has been the story of this qualifying campaign," he added. "It's definitely a group we should win, definitely a group we should score goals in but we have been ruthless. Our attacking play throughout has been outstanding.

Of course, some of the opposition has been not so strong, but we had the Nations League games in the middle of that. We have very clear patterns of play that the players understand and that suit the personnel that we've got. We've got some very good young players.

"At the end of the day you're as good as the players you have. With Harry, Raheem, Marcus, that front three with the support of the others in the squad who are only going to improve because of their age, I'm glad the three of them are ours.

"I think we saw the maturity of their performance in the end. The counter-attack goal with Raheem Sterling playing Marcus in was absolutely outstanding."


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"I think it was a tight game," he said. "It was a good test for us really. Difficult pitch, in particular, lots of people slipping and a few passes went astray. But we needed a tighter game. It was the sort of challenge I was pleased we got.
"We had to withstand spells of pressure, gave them a few half-chances that on another night could be more of a problem, but in the end our counter-attacking was absolutely ruthless.
"Goals per game we're the top scorers in Europe so that has been the story of this qualifying campaign," he added. "It's definitely a group we should win, definitely a group we should score goals in but we have been ruthless. Our attacking play throughout has been outstanding.