MUNICH: England’s 1-0 defeat in Hungary at the weekend was a shower of cold water for manager Gareth Southgate and his players.

Southgate knew that a host of injury absences created selection problems but he was disappointed by the collective failings of his team.

Yet Southgate may have contributed to the disappointment by starting with a 3-4-3 system rather than the security of 4-3-3. Very few of his players are used to playing with three at the back. Captain Harry Kane was anonymous in attack, the midfield lacked creativity and the defence was shaky.

Southgate’s selection options to face Germany were further reduced by injury in Budapest to debutant James Justin. The Leicester wingback had to be substituted at halftime with a calf muscle training and took no part in training before the Germany game in Munich.

At least fellow defenders Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi took part in the session after missing Hungary through minor injuries.

Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice are likely to start again in the centre of midfield but England’s attack will badly miss Phil Foden. The Manchester City forward did not travel for the two away Nations League matches after testing positive for Covid-19.

City team-mates John Stones and Raheem Sterling are expected to be fit for duty though Southgate is concerned about the likely temperature in the Allianz-Arena.

He said: “We have to try to manage players as best we can at this stage of the season. To play Saturday and Tuesday, particularly after the heat on Saturday, is a challenge but every one of the players wants to play tomorrow night. There is huge motivation in the group.

“I don’t think the long season was the cause of the result on Saturday. The heat was a huge factor. Talk about a long season is a psychological thing. This is no different to going into the Euro or the World Cup.”

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