England boss Gareth Southgate says he will not abandon his playing principles despite the errors that cost his side a place in the Nations League final. Mistakes by John Stones and Ross Barkley led to two extra-time goals for the Netherlands after the sides drew 1-1 in normal time in Guimaraes. But Southgate was adamant his side are capable of playing possession football. “I’m asking them to play a tough game at the back – if we didn’t play that way we wouldn’t be here,” he said.
“We didn’t lose because of how we wanted to play; we lost because of poor execution and fatigue. “It wasn’t just the two goals, we made errors and gave opportunities which should have been punished before that.” Stones and Barkley both gifted the Netherlands possession deep inside their own half and Southgate said his players can usually make those passes “no problem”. “Ross had gone down with cramp moments before [the third goal] and the Dutch pressed very well with a real intensity,” he added. “[We must] play out better. The last one there’s an element of fatigue, and when you are fatigued errors happen. “We were not quite as sharp on some of the decision-making but I think it’s a really important game for us to reflect on, and the next few days will be painful having got to this stage.”
England appeared to have taken the lead with five minutes remaining as Jesse Lingard beat Jasper Cillessen with a calm finish, but the goal was ruled out because the Manchester United forward was ruled offside following a video assistant referee (VAR) review, a decision Southgate described as “deflating”. 
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