Gareth Southgate calls on England to learn from World Cup heartache in Nations League showdown with Croatia

Gareth Southgate has called on his England side to learn from their World Cup heartache in their winner-takes-all showdown against Croatia on Sunday. Victory at Wembley would see England top Group A4 and qualify for the final stages of the inaugural Nations League, to be held in Italy or Portugal next June.

Defeat or a score draw, however, would see England finish bottom of the group and be relegated to League B, and after England’s heartbreaking 2-1 defeat in the World Cup semi-final in Moscow, Southgate was under no illusions about the challenge ahead against a Croatia team who still had “another gear” coming off the back of a last-gasp 3-2 win against Spain.

Speaking after the 3-0 friendly victory over the United States on Thursday night, Southgate said the Croatia game would be a fresh test for his young side, and played down the significance of England’s 2007 defeat to the same opposition, which cost them a place at Euro 2008 and manager Steve McClaren his job.

“I hadn’t really thought of it in that way,” Southgate said. “They’ve always had players of the highest quality, and as a new country – with what they’ve been through – a mentality and resilience that is absolutely top. Croatia will feel they have another gear to go to. They will relish having to come to Wembley and being up against it. That’s the way their mentality is.”

Southgate was pleased with England’s ball retention and creativity in the final third against the USA, but less so with their work off the ball. “I like the way we’re playing with the ball,” he said. “We’re looking a real threat. We have competition in those areas, and people who can change the game. We have to make sure both sides of our game are perfect. We’ve got to make sure that we show how we’re progressing, and that we’ve learned from our recent past.”

After experimenting on Thursday night with the likes of Lewis Dunk, Alex McCarthy and the untried DC United midfielder Wayne Rooney, a more familiar team is expected on Sunday afternoon, and expectations will be raised accordingly.

“We took quite a risk [against the USA],” said Southgate. “We put a lot of players in for their first games, a team that hadn’t had the chance to play with each other. So whatever the outcome had been, I wouldn’t have been too harsh on them.

“Sunday’s a bit different. We’ve got some players who have played together for a little while, who should have a good understanding of how we want to play. We’ve got players who should feel that it’s their moment to deliver, and show what they can do.”

Southgate was initially unconvinced of the merits of Uefa’s newest competition, yet after England’s spectacular win in Seville, which galvanised their campaign, he appears to have discovered a new appreciation for a tournament whose basic idea is to pitch the best teams against each other more often.

“It’s unprecedented that you come off the back of a major tournament and have so many strong tests in such a quick period of time,” Southgate said. “It’s been really good for us as a way of learning and improving. Now, this takes on even more excitement. None of us could really predict how it would feel, especially on the back of the summer. But it’s built to a really exciting finish.”

With Spain already having completed their four games and finished with six points, England and Croatia (both on four points) have the chance to overtake them and top the group. Should they draw, the first tie-breaker would be head-to-head record rather than goal difference.

England’s 0-0 draw in Croatia last month means a score draw would see Croatia finish second, with England relegated. A 0-0 draw at Wembley, however, would hand England second place in the group by virtue of their superior goal difference.