France vs England: Gareth Southgate has chance to move off par and claim first big win

Gareth Southgate’s first ‘season’ in charge of England draws to a close with a friendly in France on Tuesday night and he can be content with how these early days have gone, but perhaps no more than just content.

Even after sharing the points with Scotland on Saturday, his side remain on course to progress from a favourable qualification group and reach next summer’s World Cup in Russia. Yet a draw was the minimum requirement at Hampden Park and, in that sense, the result was in-keeping with those of Southgate’s short tenure so far.

His first four competitive games in charge saw home wins against Malta, Scotland and Lithuania, plus a draw in Slovenia. Two friendlies finished with a draw at home to Spain and defeat in Germany. All of these results, in retrospect, feel par for the course.

Indeed, since the Iceland debacle last summer, only the late and narrow victory in Slovakia, over an opponent that had frustrated England three months earlier, can really be classed as a creditable result. That, of course, was Sam Allardyce’s only game in charge.

In Paris, Southgate has the opportunity to apply a gloss to his first eight months in charge. A victory would be his first over superior opposition, with Didier Deschamps’ France squad possessing the kind of strength in depth that England cannot yet rely upon.

Anthony Martial, Kingsley Coman, Tiemoué Bakayoko and Kevin Gameiro are just four high-profile names to be available but not included in Les Bleus’ current 26-man contingent. A year from now, their World Cup squad is likely to boast the two most expensive footballers of all time in Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe, and Antoine Griezmann will be preparing to leave Atletico Madrid and surpass both.

Such quality has not gone unnoticed by the England squad. “They've got great players all the way through their squad,” noted Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the scorer of England’s first goal at Hampden on Saturday. “If you look at their team and the depth of the French team, they're not short for players in any position. So they're definitely one of the best teams in the world and that's exciting to go and play against.”

The good news for Southgate and Oxlade-Chamberlain is that next summer, Deschamps will only be able to select 23 “great players”. France may well enter next year’s tournament as one of the favourites, but with effective squad management and a coherent system, England can match them and beat them. Friendlies, like Tuesday night's, are a chance to find that winning formula.

Southgate confirmed his first experiment of the night will see Burnley’s Tom Heaton start in goal and replace Joe Hart, who was criticised for his part in Leigh Griffiths’ two late free-kick goals on Saturday. Heaton himself will be replaced at half-time by Jack Butland, who will make his first international appearance since fracturing his ankle in the 3-2 win over Germany in the March of last year.

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“We've got to maintain the squad environment that people feel involved,” Southgate explained. “That goalkeeping situation, we need to give players an opportunity, game time. I think in the past one or two goalkeepers have sort of given up international football because they've not had that chance, so I'm conscious of keeping people involved.”

According to Oxlade-Chamberlain, this attempt at inclusiveness is working: “You heard him [Southgate] say there 'we need a clear identity on the way we want to go forward' and, for me and all the squads that I've been in - this has been the one where we've really tried to focus on that and tried to get a real clear understanding of how we want to play and how we want to behave between each other on and off the pitch and really get that togetherness.”

Harry Kane will wear the captain’s armband again too, with the back-to-back Premier League Golden Boot winner looking likely to be handed the role on a permanent basis at the age of just 23. This willingness to break with the old from Southgate and his thoughtful use of the squad are promising signs. Both tally with the impressive way he has spoken about the job since taking the reins in October, but the honeymoon period is nearing its end now. A first win against one of international football’s top teams is on offer at the Stade de France and it would be welcome.