Football
Mark Ogden, Senior Writer, ESPN FC 6y

Gareth Southgate pleased to see England players enjoying football again

AMSTERDAM -- Gareth Southgate claimed his England players rediscovered the enjoyment of playing for their country on the way to defeating Netherlands.

Jesse Lingard's 59th-minute goal -- his first for England -- sealed a 1-0 victory against the Dutch in Ronald Koeman's first game in charge in Amsterdam.

But with England dominating against a poor Netherlands team, Southgate admitted after the game that the biggest plus from the victory was the enjoyment displayed by his players.

"There were a lot of individual positives and perhaps the most pleasing thing is that the players looked like they enjoyed their football tonight and enjoyed having the ball," Southgate said.

"We have a different type of player coming through now compared to those we have had in the past and I want them to play with freedom.

"They are capable of playing in a composed way and want to do so. They can play with angles, some of it was outstanding, and they are intelligent footballers.

"I shouldn't be inhibiting the way they play. Sometimes they will concede possession, and there will be a 'woah' moment, but playing with freedom it is the way I want to play my football.

"I was really pleased with the composure. A bit more quality in the final third was probably needed at times, but we deserved the win and it was a well-taken goal by Jesse, started by our goalkeeper."

Southgate set England out with a three-man defence, including Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker at centre-half.

And the England manager revealed that he had decided to play Walker in the role after seeing him impress in City's defence this season.

"In a back three, we knew the position would suit Joe Gomez and it's the same for Kyle," he said. "You need to be comfortable defending in wide areas, but being a full-back means you are composed on the ball in those areas.

"Kyle's pace is a tremendous asset, but if you watch City play, the left-back projects into midfield and Kyle doesn't maraud forward as he did at Spurs.

"He stays behind and the added bonus is his club relationship with John Stones.

"When you pick a squad for a World Cup, you sometimes take two for one position, but I don't want to take six centre-backs. So if Eric Dier or Kyle can play in central defence, I could take more attacking players."

Off the pitch, Dutch police made 90 arrests prior to the game following disturbances involving England supporters.

Some of those inside the ground also booed the Dutch national anthem and Southgate expressed his disappointment at the latest episode of England fans embarrassing the country away from home.

"I heard some of the booing of the anthem, which obviously isn't acceptable," Southgate said. "As for the arrests, it's not something I would comment on without knowing the details.

"It's not something I want to hear, but our players have represented their country with pride and some style tonight and anything that takes away from that is a great shame."

Southgate, meanwhile, confirmed that Gomez and Harry Maguire will be assessed by medical staff on their return to England after suffering injuries during the game.

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