Gareth Southgate admitted England “just didn’t click” in attack after they were held to a 1-1 draw with Ukraine.
England passed up the chance to move nine points clear at the top of their Euro 2024 qualification group but remain unbeaten and on course to qualify for the tournament in Germany.
Southgate was pleased his side dug in and came from behind to take a point from the game, but was disappointed by the lack of chances they created.
“It was a very tough place to come”, Southgate said in the Polish city of Wroclaw. “You could feel the atmosphere was a unique occasion really. I thought we controlled the game. What we didn’t do well enough was our work in the final third.
“We didn’t create enough chances for the possession and territory that we had. If that’s the case, you’ve got to make sure you don’t lose the game — and, having gone behind, to come back and get the point was very important. Our attacking play just didn’t click today.
“Qualification is eight games, as we had probably the toughest qualifying group around because of the seeding. We’ve taken four points from the two big away games. Yes, of course we want to play better than we did tonight, but it’s a really important point.”
England visit Scotland on Tuesday night in a friendly at Hampden Park, and Southgate was wary of the Three Lions’ need to improve.
“It will be a completely different game,” he added. “They’re going really well — a good side, very strong middle of the park, especially difficult to score goals against. We’ve got to reflect on tonight and improve the performance.”
