DNA
\nMOSCOW
\nManager Gareth Southgate said England \u201cleft everything out there\u201d after falling to an extra-time defeat by Croatia in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
\nEngland was hoping to reach a first World Cup final since 1966, but let an early lead slip to lose 2-1. \u201cI think in the first half we were really good and maybe we could have got another goal,\u201d Southgate told media.
\n\u201cI can\u2019t ask for more from the players. I think knockout football is about fine margins and when you have good spells against fine sides you need to take your chances. \u201cTonight we weren\u2019t quite there but we will learn from that. We left everything out there.\u201d
\nSouthgate said the players were deeply disappointed, but that his young team could achieve great things in the years to come, with the European Championship just two years away. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to say anything to make the players feel better at this moment in time,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWe have to be proud of what we\u2019ve achieved. I don\u2019t think anyone could have given any more. Players had run out of steam but that\u2019s partly their age \u2014 they\u2019re still physically maturing. Croatia have hardened warriors whose understanding of big matches at times came to the fore.
\n\u201cThe players have to go through big matches and experiences to become a team that can win. They have to use this experience for benefit and I know that what\u2019s happened over the last few weeks will make them a stronger team.\u201d
\nHarry Kane looks set to claim the Golden Boot as the World Cup\u2019s leading scorer, but the Tottenham star rarely looked like adding to his six goals against Croatia. \u201cI think he\u2019s given absolutely everything for the team,\u201d Southgate said of the 24-year-old England captain.
\n\u201cI think now is the time for us to be strong as a group and take the time to reflect on the performance a little bit over the next couple of days. \u201cHe\u2019s captained the team brilliantly over the tournament and I can\u2019t ask for more from him.\u201d
\nIt was England\u2019s best performance at a major tournament since Southgate was part of the team that reached the semi-finals at Euro \u201996. England arrived at this World Cup with the least experienced squad in terms of caps, but Southgate said the agony of losing was just as strong despite surpassing limited expectations.
\n\u201cWe all feel the pain of the defeat. Did we expect to be in this position? I don\u2019t think realistically any of us did,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when you\u2019ve got to this point, and we\u2019ve played as well as we have, you want to take those opportunities in life.\u201d
\n\u201cThere will in time be a lot of positives to take,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s very hard to put that into context and a bit too soon really, because I think you have to suffer the result a little bit. It\u2019s too easy to move on quickly.\u201d
\nEngland will return to their Repino base near Saint Petersburg ahead of Saturday\u2019s third place play-off against Belgium, a repeat of their final group match.
\n\u201cThe honest thing is it\u2019s not a game any team wants to play,\u201d Southgate admitted. \u201cWe have two days to prepare and we\u2019ll want to give a performance of huge pride.
\n\u201cOf course it\u2019s going to be a really difficult task over the next 24 hours to get everyone mentally back to where we want them for a game like that. That will be the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DNA MOSCOW Manager Gareth Southgate said England \u201cleft everything out there\u201d after falling to an extra-time defeat by Croatia in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday. England was hoping to reach a first World Cup final since 1966, but let an early lead slip to lose 2-1. \u201cI think in the first half we were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-28284","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n