Gareth Southgate confirms England will continue with 3-4-3 as they bid to tune up for World Cup

Southgate feels the system is a better fit for the players England have, and offers better balance, as well as more potential variation going forward

Gareth Southgate is keen to continue with his 3-4-3 experiment (Getty)

Gareth Southgate will stick with England’s new 3-4-3 formation, and plans to use the time between now and the World Cup to further hone it.

The manager tried it in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Lithuania and although he admitted that it still left the team a bit too open, that only emphasised the need to work on it. Southgate feels that it is a better fit for the players England have, and offers better balance, as well as more potential variation going forward.

“Yes, for us,” Southgate said when asked if it was the way forward. “For me in terms of the way we’d want to play from the back, I think it is a better option. At the moment we turn the ball over too much, and when we do we split into two centre-backs we are open, we are still open today with three. So we will benefit if we don’t keep turning the ball over!

“But I think it gives us good stability and it gives us easier solutions for our midfield players as well. Then what we play in front of it, it’s a possibility to switch, maybe get two strikers in in certain games, or play like we did [on Sunday]. We kept the system as we have used it before [in previous qualification games] because it is such a quick turnaround of games. Three in midfield and two forwards also becomes an option. But I think three at the back is what we ought to do.

“We have to have some consistency in formation, some consistency in what we are asking the players to do, but the thing we don’t know is who we get through the door in November and March with all the club games they’ve got, the number we are missing this time, which is why it was even more important to play [Dele] Alli, [Marcus] Rashford, [Harry] Kane [against Lithuania] because you don’t know if you are going to get them together to play in that next period.

"We have to focus on a system and really try to hone it, work on it, improve it, that might mean we might have to leave some good players out. But we have to start to make those decisions over the next couple of camps.

“I think you have such little time to work with the players that the more clarity they have under pressure then they will know what to fall back on. We felt the qualifying games, 4-2-3-1 we felt we wanted wide players who were able to exploit the width, and try to break down the packed defences but we recognised along this journey what we are capable of in certain areas of the pitch. So help to switch between two systems but for me that would both be with three at the back.”

Southgate also feels the system suits the current options for centre-back, as he also cited the youth of the players there, with 24-year-old Harry Maguire having made his debut against Lithuania.

“I think we have got some young players who are able to use the ball, all three centre backs who played today. [Phil] Jones is another one. [Gary] Cahill is playing at Chelsea in a back three. We have to invest our time in those guys, and allow them the opportunity to improve. I didn’t get into the team in 96 until I was 25, all three of those centre backs [who

played against Lithuania] are even younger than that but I saw positive signs. It is important we invest our time in people we think can get to the level needed.”