Sport What's on Southgate's Euro 2020 to-do list?

Southgate praises Sterling's reaction after Gomez clash with recall expected

Punished for confronting England team-mate Joe Gomez, the Manchester City attacker is poised to return to the fold against Kosovo in Group A."Yes," Southgate said when asked if Sterling will start on Sunday. "Without knowing what might happen in tomorrow's game and everything else, but I can see that being the case."His reaction has been brilliant. He spoke to the team really well and he's trained really well and I can't fault his reaction at all.

England sealed qualification to Euro 2020 with their 7-0 thrashing of Montenegro on Thursday, but what ' s on Gareth Southgate ' s to - do list ahead of That Southgate was willing to backtrack on that instinct shows the complexity and sensitivity of the situation. His first challenge was to punish Sterling

What term do you want to search? Gareth Southgate has issued a gentle warning to James Maddison after the Leicester midfielder was included in large The Leicester midfielder James Maddison is expected to be picked by England for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Montenegro and

© Getty England players celebrate during the 7-0 win at Wembley

​​​​​​​England sealed qualification to Euro 2020 with their 7-0 thrashing of Montenegro on Thursday, but what's on Gareth Southgate's to-do list ahead of next summer's tournament? Ensure squad harmony remains

Raheem Sterling's altercation with Joe Gomez - and the resulting fallout - presented Southgate with arguably the biggest test of his England tenure.

Some praised him for adopting a strong stance by leaving Sterling out of the game against Montenegro, but others - including some members of the squad, according to reports - feel he overreacted. It should also be noted that, before players intervened, Southgate's initial decision was to instruct Sterling to leave the camp altogether.

'Ruthless' Kane will break Rooney's England goals record - Southgate

The Tottenham forward is still 23 goals behind the all-time record, but his international boss thinks he is more than up to the task of breaking itGareth Southgate is backing Harry Kane to break the England goals record after the captain's hat-trick against Montenegro moved him to sixth on the all-time list.

Should they fail to do so, they have a second chance against Kosovo in their final match of the qualifying campaign, having started so well. Gareth Southgate will hoping his England side can finish the job and ensure qualification to Euro 2020 against MontenegroCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd.

Gareth Southgate will hoping his England side can finish the job and ensure qualification to Euro 2020 against All England have to do is avoid defeat. A draw or win will be enough to ensure Kosovo in third Should that all come to pass, then Gareth Southgate ' s men still have the chance to progress

That Southgate was willing to backtrack on that instinct shows the complexity and sensitivity of the situation. His first challenge was to punish Sterling without upsetting the rest of the squad. He found a compromise there. His next challenge, though, is to ensure the bad blood does not linger.

© Getty Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scores England's opening goal against Montenegro

All the noises out of the camp since the incident have been positive, of course. Sterling and Gomez have made up and insisted the incident is behind them. But Southgate will be aware of how club divisions undermined previous England teams and he will also be wary of how the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester City is intensifying.

The latest England squad contains six players from the two clubs - Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool and Sterling and John Stones from Manchester City - and that number could grow if Kyle Walker returns to the fold.

Southgate highlights England's defensive fragility after Montenegro win

The Three Lions boss was pleased to see his side book a spot at Euro 2020, but still sees plenty of room for improvement at the backThe Three Lions booked their place in next summer's tournament with a comprehensive victory against the Group A minnows at Wembley.

Gareth Southgate ’ s side can confirm their place at the tournament as group winners by beating Montenegro on The top six seeds at Euro 2020 will be the best six qualifiers based on the number of points To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to

So what must Southgate and England do in the coming months to end the barren years since the 1966 World This is currently a list of the unimpressive and the untried. It is undoubtedly Southgate ' s most Southgate ' s team, as they did against Montenegro, showed an ability to dispatch sides with

England player ratingsSterling: Wrong to boo Gomez

It represents a significant chunk of the squad and, having placed togetherness and team spirit at the heart of his England vision since the start of his reign, Southgate can ill-afford divisions and disagreements to creep into the equation now. The early signs are encouraging, but the situation will require more care and attention in the months ahead.

© Reuters REUTERS/David Klein Settle on a stable partner for Maguire

Since switching from a back three to a back four last year, Southgate has used six different centre-back partnerships in 13 games. He clearly intends to persist with the new formation, but the chopping and changing suggests he has still not settled on his preferred personnel.

He has used Harry Maguire and Michael Keane most commonly during this period - pairing them together in five of the 13 games - but while the former's place appears safe, the latter's prospects look bleaker than ever after his shaky form cost him his place in the side against Bulgaria last month.

Kane condemns England fans for booing Gomez during Montenegro win

The Spurs striker has jumped to the defence of his international colleague, who he believes was wrongly targeted by fans at WembleyGomez was in the headlines this week after an altercation with Raheem Sterling at St George's Park on Monday, which left him with a nasty scratch just below his right eye.

England are expected to secure their place at Euro 2020 on Thursday night and then attention will turn to who makes Gareth Southgate ' s squad. Who WILL be Gareth Southgate ' s wide men when England reach Euro 2020 . England round off their Euro 2020 qualifiers against Montenegro and

The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020 , is scheduled to be the 16th UEFA European Championship

Southgate turned to a new face in that game, with Aston Villa's Tyrone Mings impressing on his debut, helping England secure a clean sheet and also keeping his composure in the face of sickening racist abuse from sections of the home fans in Sofia.

Against Montenegro, however, Southgate went back to Stones. The 25-year-old returned to the side with something to prove having made two glaring individual errors on his last appearance for England, in the Nations League lost to the Netherlands, but Southgate will hope his solid showing on Thursday can help him put his recent struggles behind him.

Mings will continue to stake his claim. Gomez and Fikayo Tomori will be eager to force their way into the team too. But stability and familiarity are crucial to all good centre-back pairings. Southgate must pick his man and stick with him ahead of next summer's tournament.

© PA Harry Winks has impressed for England in recent months Establish midfield control

Can Southgate put together a midfield capable of controlling games against top opposition? It is a long-standing issue which was glaringly apparent in last year's World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia and again at the Nations League finals against the Netherlands. Since then, even Kosovo have been able to take advantage.

Hudson-Odoi and Pope start for England

Callum Hudson-Odoi and Nick Pope will start for England against Kosovo in their final European Qualifier, Sky Sports News understands. Pope earns his first England start, after the Burnley goalkeeper was first called up in March 2018, while Chelsea winger Hudson-Odoi makes only his second start as Gareth Southgate explores his squad options.Southgate could make further changes for the final European Qualifier at the Pristina City Stadium on Sunday with James Maddison a doubt with a minor calf strain and John Stones set to be rested.

Gareth Southgate ' s contract expires at the end of Euro 2020 , and the 48-year-old is not looking too far ahead.

“We have done what was expected of us and won the group. “It’ s been a really good campaign, we should be proud — but we have a lot of work to do now. Boss Southgate added: “We know this is a group we should win comfortably but you can see others who struggle to score goals like we have.

Southgate has been able to find ways around it in the past, most notably when England produced a devastating display of counter-attacking football during their 3-2 win over Spain in October of last year. But a little more technical proficiency in the middle of the park is surely a must if they are to go the distance next summer.

England do not have a player of Luka Modric or Frenkie de Jong's ilk ready and waiting to step in, unfortunately, but Southgate will be encouraged by what Harry Winks has brought to the team having replaced Declan Rice in their last two games.

The Tottenham man, who has been likened to Xavi and Andres Iniesta by Mauricio Pochettino, completed 119 passes out of 124 against Bulgaria, helping England maintain total dominance of the game, and it was a similar story against Montenegro as he found a team-mate with 85 of his 89 passes.

Southgate may decide a player like Rice would give England more defensive security against stronger opponents in a major tournament setting, but it is Winks who provides England's best hope of control. History suggests he would be wise to bear that in mind ahead of Euro 2020.

© Getty Ben Chilwell provided three assists against Montenegro Identify a creative hub

Southgate requires creativity in his midfield as well as control, of course.

'England further ahead than before World Cup'

Gareth Southgate believes England are in a better place heading into the European Championships than they were ahead of the World Cup in 2018.England secured their place among the six top seeds for the Euro 2020 draw by triumphing 4-0 in Pristina, where Harry Winks and Mason Mount opened their international accounts alongside Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford efforts.

The Liverpool defender was unhappy about what happened, but Sterling apologised and both now England boss Gareth Southgate consulted with senior players and they agreed with the plan to drop The Three Lions are top of Euro 2020 Qualifying Group A, three points clear of the Czech Republic

Gareth Southgate has no plans to leave the England job before Euro 2020 but admits his future is uncertain after that. What do you know, really, two years into your coaching career? "I think at this point, at some stage in the distant future, I would want to do that, but I actually don't know, because

England were largely reliant on their wing-backs for creativity at the World Cup, with Kieran Trippier creating more chances (24) than any other player in the competition, the majority of which came from set-piece deliveries. But while Ben Chilwell and Alexander-Arnold offered plenty of attacking threat against Montenegro, the switch to a back four means there is more onus on the midfield to share the creative burden.

Southgate has chosen Ross Barkley for that job for much of England's qualifying campaign, but the Chelsea man was absent with an injury for the thrashing of Montenegro and - with Henderson also suspended - Mason Mount and Oxlade-Chamberlain were brought in instead.

Mount was tidy enough, but it was Oxlade-Chamberlain who most strongly staked his claim for a starting spot. Southgate has made no secret of the fact that he viewed the Liverpool man as a guaranteed starter before injury ruled him out of last year's World Cup. His goalscoring display at Wembley will have placed him back at the forefront of his manager's mind.

Of course, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mount are not the only others in the frame. James Maddison had to settle for a place on the bench against Montenegro, but did get a chance as a substitute, while there has also been a clamour from elsewhere for Aston Villa's Jack Grealish to be given a chance. Southgate must decide who to go with.

© Getty (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) Solve full-back dilemma

England are blessed with impressive depth at full-back, but that depth creates dilemmas for Southgate. Who will occupy his full-back spots for the first game of Euro 2020?

England score most goals in over a century in historic 2019

Gareth Southgate's team strolled to a win on Sunday and set some team and individual landmarks along the way as a successful year drew to a closeEngland’s final goal in a 4-0 drubbing of the Balkans, scored by Mason Mount, was their 38th in the last 12 months, their most since 1908, according to Opta.

Gareth Southgate ' s team need one point to secure their place at Euro 2020 . England host Montenegro at Wembley tonight in their penultimate Euro 2020 qualifier, needing just one point to To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this

'The list is long but can England do it. What Gareth and his staff have done is amazing.' While Henry is an admirer of Southgate and England, it is France will go into Euro 2020 as 'They have been in a Euro final in 2016 and won the World Cup in 2018 and now people expect them to do the same thing.

Against Montenegro, he opted for Alexander-Arnold at right back and Ben Chilwell on the left. The latter provided a hat-trick of assists and has now played more minutes (360) than any other full-back during England's qualifying campaign, suggesting he has edged ahead of Danny Rose in Southgate's pecking order.

At right-back, however, it seems Southgate still has a decision to make. Alexander-Arnold also impressed against Montenegro, his cross setting up Kane's hat-trick goal, but it was only his second start in qualifying, with Southgate generally preferring Trippier up until now.

Those two are not the only ones vying for the place either. Manchester United's Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Manchester City's Walker and even Chelsea youngster Reece James will also be eager to catch Southgate's eye in the months ahead. The England boss will be monitoring them all closely.

Related: England's Euro 2016 squad - Where are they now? [Read Sport]