Gary Neville’s England assessment: Optimism and a brilliant back four

Gary Neville gave his verdict on England after their UEFA Nations League win over Croatia, explaining why the victory was an “important step”, why England are now “biting back”, and where they still need to improve.

Jesse Lingard and Harry Kane scored as England came from behind to win 2-1 at Wembley and qualify for the semi-finals of the Nations League next summer.

Here’s what former England defender Neville said on Sky Sports after the game…

England 2-1 Croatia
As it happened

An important step

“There’s no shortcut for England to get back to where they were in the summer, they have to go step by step and grow all the way to the next tournament, and this is a big moment today. The disappointment of the summer carries over, but to recover and play those games against Spain and Croatia, and to come back and win the group is a great team effort and it tells you a lot about the spirit of the team.

“We could have been 2-0 up at half-time, but it had a lot of the same patterns as the summer, in terms of them hanging in there, showing resilience, then getting a goal, then getting stronger, but this time we bit back, and that’s the development. Gareth will be thinking where did the game change; we actually came back at them and were able to finish stronger.

“It was a game that didn’t mean as much as the summer, but, as I said, there’s no shortcut to getting back to the summer, it’s step by step and this is an important step.”

Right to get excited

“For so long there has been doom and gloom and low expectation. Getting carried away with England is not such a bad thing considering where we have been for the last 15-20 years. There has always been high expectation and then disappointment. There was low expectation going into the summer and now we are achieving things.”

“After Euro 96 there was a feeling of ‘will you ever get back to this moment again and give yourself that opportunity’, but these players look desperate to create that moment in that careers again. It’s difficult, you have to wait two years to get there, but they look like they are building towards the European Championship. We are on the right track and that’s important.”

Back four brilliance

“It was brilliant to watch the back four. When you are off the ball it’s easy to jog up the pitch after you play it forward, but you saw energy in that back four today and they kept pushing up. I always remember Gareth when he played for England, he wasn’t the quickest, but he was a front-foot defender and always believed in getting in front, and he has put that into that team.

“The back four really impressed me, they are young, they will get better, they are quick, read the game well and are good on the ball. They have got something there.”

Midfield needs work

“It looks like Gareth hasn’t quite yet got comfortable with the midfield combinations. Today you can go from Ross Barkley, who likes to receive the ball and pass, Dele Alli, who is a runner, Jesse Lingard, who is a runner, and then Harry Winks likes to come to the ball.

“I think he is still experimenting with the make-up of the midfield. He is still trying to find the right combination. Even today when he tried to change the game the first thing he looked to was the midfield, he didn’t try to change the front three, so I think that’s one bit he will want to work on.”

(c) Sky News 2018: Gary Neville’s England assessment: Optimism and a brilliant back four