The decision to drop Trent Alexander Arnold is just one of Southgate's problems

Just 14 months ago, England reached the final of the European Championship and came within a whisker of winning it, sparking the hopes of fans who identify strongly with the national team. In recent days, Southgate's players - winless in five games and without scoring in an elaborate 500-minute spell - called a meeting at which the coaching staff was absent.

Booed by England fans in the last home game, an unlikely 4-09 defeat by Hungary in June, Southgate knew the criticism would swell with another fiasco if Germany emerged victorious from Wembley Stadium on Monday. How to interpret a thrilling 3-3 draw in a Nations League match in which nothing was at stake?

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For Southgate's defenders, it showed a team that remains committed to the manager, not least by reacting to going 2-0 down after 70 minutes and avoiding heading into the World Cup with another demoralising defeat. But Southgate's growing detractors will point to the chaotic 12-minute spell - from 71 to 83 minutes - when England scored three goals with three strikes to take a 3-2 lead as a mirage.

For the moment, the storm over the England team has abated, though another one could be in sight in Qatar. "The pressure is always there. You can't shake it off," said Southgate. "Maybe in the third group game, maybe in the quarter-finals ... whatever it is, but you're going to get it. The best thing is to feel it and learn how to handle it. We talked about it before the game, how to react if Germany scored, and the players responded in the right way," he added.

England national team in trouble on the road to the World Cup 

The situation had escalated so much that Southgate said, perhaps jokingly, that he had forgotten what it felt like when his team scored a goal. When Luke Shaw scored for 2-1, his first goal for club or country since the Euro 2020 final, it ended a 565-minute England drought without scoring in an elaborate move. "In these moments, we have to back our best and most experienced players," Southgate said.