Gareth Southgate has revealed that his England players asked to hold a private meeting between themselves to discuss their current poor run of form prior to the thrilling 3-3 draw at home against Germany on Monday.
After strikes from Ilkay Gundogan and Kai Havertz put the visitors two goals in front, the Three Lions turned the game on its head courtesy of goals from Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Harry Kane, but Havertz has the last laugh with an 87th-minute equaliser to force both nations to share the spoils.
Having already been relegated from League A Group 3 following their slender 1-0 loss away against Italy last Friday, England ended their UEFA Nations League campaign bottom of the group without a win from their six fixtures.
England are enduring their longest winless run for the first time in nearly 30 years, and both Southgate and his players have subsequently come under fire just two months before they jet off to Qatar for the World Cup.
A recent report from The Mirror claims that England players held a 'crisis meeting' without Southgate following concerns about their current malaise in form.
Southgate admits that the team did organise to get together privately to discuss their current situation, but the 52-year-old has taken it as a positive.
"They asked if they can have a meeting on their own to talk things through," Southgate told reporters via Sky Sports News.
"That for me was such a positive sign. At some clubs that's not a good sign! But they talked through what they wanted to do with me. The best teams have a core of players who drive things.
"There's more of those conversations that go on – when eating, having treatment you can't be involved in as a staff so to have the right messages filtering through is crucial. That's one example of how they've dealt with it.
"That was keeping people on track. 'We're on board with what we been asked to do, we need to stay calm...' we've got players who have experienced moments like this with England, not so many now, so they're all learning together."
Southgate added: "We weren't going to rip things up tonight and make eight changes and throw things up in the air, we believe in what we're doing, we've got to stick with what we're doing.
In the first nine games after losing to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, England scored 35 goals and conceded only three times across all competitions, but since then they have found the net only four times – including just two from open play – and have conceded 10 goals in six matches.
Southgate accepts that there is a "huge amount of noise" regarding his position and his tactics, but he believesthat his system is not to blame for their poor form at both ends of the pitch.
"I don't think the system was responsible for any of the goals," Southgate added. "I think that's clear. So we were a bit naïve on the counter for the second, and the first and the third are individual errors.
"In the end what pleased me was the threat we looked playing in that system. People are going to have an opinion, but I think it's the best way for us.
"I have to accept there's going to be a huge amount of noise, there has been, around individual and team selections, but if I'm going to be wishy-washy, change my mind, and not give us the best chance of winning, then it's pointless me doing it.
"I think the players are committed to it, they know the more we play it the more comfortable we'll be. I think there were some positive signs across the two games with it."
England's players will be hoping that they have done enough to impress Southgate, who is set to name his 26-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on October 20. body check tags ::
