England manager Gareth Southgate has warned his attacking players that the goalscoring load must be shared more evenly as they rely too heavily on Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling.
The Three Lions remain rooted to the bottom of Nations League Group A3 following a turgid goalless draw with Italy at Molineux on Saturday night. Chances were few and far between, although Mason Mount did crack a shot against the crossbar.
Drawing a blank there means England have now gone more than four hours without netting from open play in matches against Hungary, Germany and Italy.
Speaking after the match, Southgate warned his side would have to find goals from sources other than Kane – who started on the bench against Italy – and Sterling.
“In the end we have not got the goal that has made the difference. We are very reliant on Harry and Raheem for our goals and that is a concern,” Southgate said.
“There was one attempt on goal tonight [from Jack Grealish]. I go back to what I was saying with all attacking players. Harry and Raheem are the ones who consistently get the goals. We have to improve if we are going to impress as a team.
He continued: “The concern is if we don’t have him [Kane]. Every top team relies on their best players. France were dead and buried against Austria [on Friday] and [Kylian] Mbappe comes up with something.
“The quality of top players is a huge factor in any team and we are fortunate we have got ours. Our captain’s goalscoring record is phenomenal but we have to start to spread that load. There are players scoring regularly for their clubs who need to convert that to international football.”
Southgate added: “I don’t want to roll out the same players because to win might relieve some pressure on my shoulders. For me it was important for these players to come in and do as well as they did – that was more important than to win.”
England’s final game of the Nations League window comes against Hungary at Molineux on Tuesday.
