Sunday 8 October 2017 20:27, UK
Gareth Southgate insists England debutant Harry Winks can be proud of his man-of-the-match performance in the 1-0 win over Lithuania.
Tottenham midfielder Winks, making his debut alongside Harry Maguire in a youthful England XI in Vilnius, put in an impressive display as club team-mate Harry Kane's penalty secured a narrow win.
Winks stood out in what was a relatively uninspiring performance from Southgate's side and the manager singled out the 21-year-old for high praise.
Southgate told Sky Sports: "I was really pleased [with Winks], I thought he showed great maturity, he didn't look fazed by wearing an England shirt.
"His quality on the ball was good, he was the one that found forward passes and he looked to play forward. I thought he could be very proud of his debut."
Southgate opted for three at the back for the third time as England manager, but his side looked vulnerable at times in defence, with Lithuania creating several chances on the counter-attack.
Southgate said the conditions on the artificial pitch in Vilnius didn't help, but nevertheless saw encouraging signs throughout the side.
"I thought there were some very encouraging things, we made a lot of changes to the team and a lot of the things we wanted to see we saw.
"There were some good individual displays in a different system, some of which we executed well and some we need to improve on, but it was a good opportunity to look at some different players who have acquitted themselves well.
"I think some of [the system] was good, our use of the ball from the back was good. We're still a little bit open when we turn the ball over. But at times we found nice pockets of space, and probably our final ball or final finish wasn't quite right in the final third today.
"At times the [Lithuania] defence is so packed there's no space to play. You sometimes have to use the width, be patient and work your way around.
"I think there were some moments when we got into good positions and probably tried to take people on rather than pass and move.
"On this surface the ball gets stuck under your feet as you try to dribble past people. It's a different sort of challenge."
Southgate's England will begin preparation for next year's World Cup in Russia with friendlies against Brazil and Germany at Wembley in November.
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