Gareth Southgate Accused of Being Okay with Draw vs Usa After Leaving out 'england's Best Player'

Gareth Southgate Accused of Being Okay with Draw vs Usa After Leaving out 'england's Best Player'

Rene Otinga
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:18 PM
In this article:
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International
  • England fans say same thing about Gareth Souhgate after drab draw vs USA
  • England FANS Were extremely frustrated by Gareth Southgate after the Three lions’ draw against USA
  • The game ended goalless, leaving USA needing to beat Iran in their final group game to advance to the last 16
  • Gareth Southgate’s substitutions were questioned during the game as he left out superstars like Phil Foden from the clash

Gareth Southgate has come under fire for leaving out Phil Foden from the crunch clash between England and the USA in the World Cup.

The two age-old rivals clashed once again on Friday, November 25 in a game that had different contexts for both teams.

Phil Foden, England, Worrld Cup
Phil Foden of England reacts in the dugout prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between England and USA Photo by Ryan Pierse.
Source: Getty Images

England needed to win to secure a place in the last 16 while USA needed the win to boost their chances.

But a lacklustre performance meant England was unable to find the net as both sides settled for a draw.

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For his substitutions, Southgate decided to go with Marcus Rashford, Jordan Henderson and Jack Grealish, completely leaving out Phil Foden.

England legend Michael Owen was among the first people to be up in arms protesting the decision to leave out the Manchester City star.

“Astonished that we’ve used 14 players so far yet our most talented player is still sat on the bench.” Owen tweeted and many fans agreed with him.

@bhaggio said:

“It's shocking,I didnt understand why Henderson come instead of Foden, or mayb the coach was happy with a draw”

@billycurwood1 added:

“Foden is better than Saka…. But both should be playing and drop Sterling.”

@MattHession also said:

Foden is easily the best player in that squad!

@brh1981 added:

“To any normal person, Foden starts every single time. Just not if you're Gareth Southgate.

Iran players accused of working ref

Sports Brief also reported on how Iran players’ tendency to be in the referee’s ear worked in their favor on Friday.

The Iranians beat Wales thanks to two late goals in stoppage time, with the Welshmen playing a chunk of the game with 10 men.

Jurgen Klinsmann , who was on punditry duty at BBC on Friday, analyzed the game which he believes would have gone much differently under a different match official.

The former USA manager says the fact that Iran players were always on the referee and linesmen’s ear for most of the game including on some unnoticed occasions worked perfectly for them.

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Rene Otinga photo
Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.
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