Gareth Southgate didn’t like how England ‘managed’ their World Cup qualifier win over Albania

Gareth Southgate admitted his England side still have areas they must improve on despite their relatively comfortable 2-0 World Cup qualifier win over Albania.

Harry Kane opened the scoring in the first half, before Mason Mount doubled the lead just after the hour mark as England eased to a largely uneventful victory. 

But the Three Lions’ boss was disappointed that his side failed to kill off the match late on and left themselves vulnerable to Albania pressure.

Gareth Southgate revealed he did not like how England saw out their 2-0 win over Albania

Harry Kane opened the scoring before Mason Mount doubled the lead in a comfortable win

‘It was a difficult pitch to move the ball on so we adapted to that,’ Southgate said. ‘After about 25 minutes we just changed the shape of the midfield a little bit and looked a lot more dangerous.

‘They were a different formation to the one they had played their last 25 matches so I thought we adapted well to that.

‘We were comfortable for most of the second half. I just thought at the end of the game we had opportunities to make it three and kill the game off.

But the England boss was frustrated that his side were unable to finish off the game sooner

‘And I didn’t like the way we managed the game in the last 15 minutes, charging forward when we didn’t need to, a throw-in at the end that we nearly conceded a goal from. I’m pleased with the win but there are areas we can tighten up on.’

Southgate gave particular praise to Mount and Phil Foden, who both stood out with their impressive performances.

It was the Chelsea midfielder’s third international goal, while at 20-years-old Foden continues to make it difficult for his club or national side to leave him out. 

The England boss said: ‘Both of them, you can see in those games where there is very little space the way they manipulate the balls into the tight areas, their vision, they are both a goal threat, they work so hard for the team.

Southgate hailed both Mount and Phil Foden for their work rate both on and off the ball

‘Both of them pressed well when we lost the ball. I thought our front four was a threat and the more the game went on the more likely we were to extend the lead.’

The Three Lions boss will see how his side fare up on Monday morning before beginning preparations for Wednesday’s match with Poland.

‘We will have to see how everybody comes through today,’ he said. ‘We will look at Poland and see how their game was. 

‘I was pleased with the performances, we know we’ve got depth if we need people to come in and freshen up, so we will just see how everybody reports in the morning.’

England next play on Wednesday against Poland and Southgate hinted their could be rotation