“I knew we were going to have a difficult game against USA” England coach Gareth Southgate

England coach, Gareth Southgate said he wasn’t surprised with the Three Lions’ result against the United States of America in Qatar yesterday.

The game ended in a barren draw with England maintaining their first position in Group B.

Speaking to ITV after the game, Southgate said “Exactly the sort of game I thought it would be – it was really tough against a good opponent who were very athletic.

“I knew it would be difficult for us after such a high to replicate that sort of performance [against Iran]. I’m really pleased with how the players have applied themselves”.

Asked about the boos directed to the England team, Southgate said: “Were we booed off though? I’m not sure if that was aimed at us. I don’t know. Personally, I’m pleased with the application of the players. To come off the high of the performance of the other day and find that same energy and quality was always going to be a challenge.

“Of course, I want our fans to go home happy and our fans at home to have a smile on their faces. We haven’t quite managed to achieve that today. But people are going to react how they react.

“We have to stay calm in these moments. We’ve been through tournaments before. We had a unique thing getting through the last two in two games. This is the tournament of external noise and we’ll add another layer to that, I’m sure.” He concluded.