Jack Butland kept a clean sheet as England beat Lithuania 1-0
The Stoke City goalkeeper kept a clean sheet as he returned to the national side with a 1-0 win away at group minnows Lithuania.
The final qualification group game, which England won thanks to a first-half Harry Kane penalty, was effectively a dead-rubber with the Three Lions having already booked their place in next summer’s tournament by beating Slovenia by the same scoreline on Thursday.
However, both results and performances were uninspiring and gave little hope that the tide of success is turning.
In essence, England had almost the perfect qualification process, winning eight and drawing two as they topped the group.
And Gareth Southgate’s side, although far from entertaining, conceded just three goals in the process.
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Gareth Southgate must now decide who to take to Russia 2018
The hanging criticism is the standard of opposition faced and inability to really go for the jugular which left games on a knife-edge.
But Butland disagrees and says him team-mates deserve credit for all they achieved in the qualification process.
“I think there’s an awful lot of credit the boys deserve for achieving this but we can’t leave it at that, we need to build on it,” Butland said.
“We need to be better, keep growing and making sure that come the tournament next year we give ourselves the best chance.
“I can understand why (there is such scepticism), because we are winning so often during qualifying. There is such a big expectation on us as a nation because we want to succeed.
“We have had people coming in and out of the team, been playing different formations and been going to some tough places and playing on tough pitches.
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Jack Butland will battle Joe Hart for the number one jersey in Russia
“We have gone unbeaten in another qualifying campaign and we have got one of the best defensive records.”
England fans will have to wait until Friday, December 1 to see who they will face in the World Cup group stages.
And Butland says he will be sharing the excitement when the draw comes around later this year, especially given the talent he believes is in the squad.
“We know what we are capable of doing so you can understand it,” Butland added. “We know the talent that we have and how capable we are but it’s about showing it.
“You can see the talent that we have week in and week out in the Premier League so the excitement is there for a reason.”
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