In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, England boss Gareth Southgate discusses where his side must improve and why he is optimistic about the progress towards World Cup in Qatar. Watch England vs Switzerland live on Sky Sports from 4.30pm on Saturday; kick-off 5.30pm
Saturday 26 March 2022 18:15, UK
Italy's shock failure to qualify for the World Cup is a reminder of how quickly things can change in football. But for Gareth Southgate, 2022 is the year England's years of steady progress must come to fruition in Qatar.
The pain from losing in the final of last summer's European Championships at Wembley to Italy is still present for the England manager but through thorough analysis of that game and his team's impressive run in the tournament, Southgate is confident England can continue their upward trajectory.
Ultimately, their efforts in that regard will be judged on what happens at the World Cup this winter and whether England achieve the goal set for them by former FA chairman Greg Dyke in 2013: to win the 2022 World Cup.
After coming so close to glory on their own turf, the expectation and hope will be that they take the next step and end their long, long wait to lift major silverware. Southgate accepts that only victory will now be good enough for him and his players.
"In the end, that's what we're here for. That's what we've always been here for," Southgate told Sky Sports ahead of Saturday evening's friendly with Switzerland.
"That's been a goal for five, six years since the chairman before last set that goal. 2022 has always been in our mind as a development. We've hit the right markers on the lead-in to that.
"We know to win a tournament is so difficult and I think this is a really competitive one because there are any number of teams that are strong. We're on the right path going towards that and in our heads as a group we know it's the only thing that will really fulfil us."
Reflecting on last summer's heartbreak, Southgate picked out the positives, which he hopes to repeat this winter, but also the moments England must improve on if they are to succeed in Qatar.
"We studied previous winners of major tournaments and we hit so many of the targets," said Southgate.
"In the end last year we were second top scorers in the world, goals-per-game, and we had the best defensive record, goals-per-game. So there's lots of things we do well which we have to continue to do.
In the big moments there's still a need to retain the ball better and be a bit braver in possession of the ball.
"In the big moments there's still a need to retain the ball better and be a bit braver in possession of the ball. We managed that well through most of the tournament, where there was huge pressure on every game for us as effectively hosts. And then we were a little bit passive without the ball in the final, especially as the game wore on.
"It's those small areas. But another game would be another scenario. Who knows the implications of going ahead after two minutes and what that did to our mentality but also the flow of the game?"
The build-up to the World Cup ramps up this week with the internationals against Switzerland and Ivory Coast before there's another gear change in June in the Nations League.
The clock is ticking down to November and Southgate knows he must use all the time afforded to him to maximise his preparations. The focus this week, for instance, is on working on some tactical elements. "There are definitely opportunities. There are some tactical things we'd like to see. There are some players we'd like to see," he says.
However, he accepts the unusual timing of the competition could influence his final squad selection.
"I think we've got a framework but we're going to go through the end of this season, where some players are in very good form, some are not so strong at the moment. We're going to go through a close season which could mean people change clubs, people have totally different circumstances. We're then going to start another season, where there's form, new players perhaps emerging.
"Wrapped around that there's the group who have been the core who have huge experience of big matches with England and that has to count for a lot. To win championships and trophies you need players with experience in those types of environment, to know how they're going to react in those moments."
There are a lot of moving parts. It's now Southgate's job to ensure they all fall into the right place in time for the World Cup.
Is he optimistic about the year ahead?
"Very," he says. "We've got an exciting team. We've had three or four very good years.
"Even in the period, the autumn of 2020 where we didn't qualify through the Nations League and we came under fire a little bit, we learnt so much from those games - Denmark home and away, Belgium home and away - and we found a lot of new players through that period as well which put us in good stead for the Euros.
"So whatever happens in the next couple of months we'll learn a lot. It's about preparing ourselves.
"We want to have a real good crack with the Nations League, I think it's a good tournament. But ultimately our year is going to be judged on the World Cup."
