England showed the grit needed for World Cup, Southgate says

He said his players stood up to a deluge of corners and set pieces by a US side that grew in confidence and came closest to winning the contest when Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic smacked a shot against the crossbar in the first half.

“To be a successful team at a tournament, you have to show those different faces and we did that tonight,” Southgate said.

“I'm sure there'll be a lot of noise about the performance. But not many teams go through World Cups and get nine points in the group.”

Southgate offered most praise to his central defenders Harry Maguire and John Stones.

“Personally, I am really pleased with the application of the players,” he said. “To come off the high of the performance of the other day and find that same energy and level of quality was always going to be a challenge.”