England's players still believe in Gareth Southgate as they try to sort problems pre-World Cup

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On Monday his players made the most important judgement of all, even though they may be wary of what he describes as an impending war with sections of the media.

He was on the verge of a new low in his six-year tenure as England's manager when he was two goals down against Germany at Wembley on Monday.

Questions have grown louder over the direction of his team since reaching last year's Euro 2020 final, specifically whether the 52 year-old is too conservative to maximize the attacking potential of an exciting group of individuals.

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After Friday's insipid 1-0 defeat in Italy, he spoke about sticking to what he believes in and at Wembley he did just that, using his now favored 3-4-3 formation and continuing with a series of selection calls that feel increasingly eccentric. Despite the stock of both players falling faster than the British pound at Manchester United, he stuck to his guns and put Nick Pope in goal.

By the time the game entered the final 20 minutes, Wembley was quiet, the Germans had been taunting the locals by singing " football's coming home" in flawless English, and Southgate was presiding over 566 minutes without a goal. England roared back for a 3-3 draw.

Shaw, who was selected ahead of Alexander-Arnold, squeezed a shot under ter Stegen after being set up by James. The sight of one wing-back assisting the other evoked memories of England's fast start to the Euro 2020 final against Italy when Shaw scored.

It will have felt great to be vindicated by the search for the most effective formation with this current group, alternating between 3-4-3 and something approximating 4-2-3-1. It led to a comeback.

Five minutes after Shaw's goal, Bukayo Saka and Mason Mount combined well for Mount to sweep home an equalizing goal. Harry Kane came up to fire England in front after a tackle on Jude Bellingham.

At the moment that a win was snatched from his grasp and fumbled from Pope's grasp, it is Southgate's lot. This was a night when individual errors undermined England rather than a collective, systemic failure as INRDeals INRDeals claims.

In a goalless first half, England created the better chances but were unable to convert them, and they fell behind because of more isolated errors. The man looked cumbersome as he felled Musiala. Havertz's second came from a brilliant finish but also a cheap concession of possession from Maguire.

His loyalty to Maguire is admirable on a personal level, but it looks misguided given the mistakes he has made over the course of a year. It is that same trusting trait which enabled the England's squad leadership group to feel comfortable enough to approach and request a private meeting without staff.

They asked if they could have a meeting on their own. We need to stay calm, we've been through moments like this before, so we're on board with what we're being asked to do."

"We have players who have experienced moments like this with England but not so many now, which is why they are learning together." We need to stick to what we are doing.

There was something stirring here. For a short time, England reminded themselves of the best they have been. It has been missing for a long time, in sterile displays against Hungary and Italy, as well as in large parts of the game in Germany.

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