3 Gareth Southgate mistakes that condemned England to the fourth spot even before kickoff

A manager’s job, especially at the highest level, is to ensure that he/she comes up with the best tactics or line up that will guarantee victory. Over the course of their managerial career, they take charge of various matches at local and for some, international level. It is their duty to assess their upcoming opponent thoroughly before deciding on which player takes to the field in their best position.

In football, we have seen great managers like Jose Mourinho make some unorthodox changes all in the name of protecting leads or even correctly predicting Barcelona's starting lineup before facing them some years ago.

England boss Gareth Southgate, still a rookie in elite management, was guilty if naivety in the 2018 World Cup. Do not take anything from England's solid run to the semi-final of the competition. They already surpassed whatever expectation that was placed on this young Three Lions side.

They matched their best ever performance at a major competition since winning the 1966 World Cup by reaching the last four. It can be argued that they had a boost of good fortune when they finished second in Group H behind Belgium. Consequently, they avoided a draconian route that had the likes of Argentina, Brazil and France in the knockout rounds.

England did not face real quality opposition until the last 16 against Colombia. Even then, Colombia's engine James Rodriguez was absent from the line-up. Southgate and Belgium boss Roberto Martinez fielded their reserve teams during their last group match that was essentially a dead rubber.

The match against Colombia should have given Southgate little hints about England's weaknesses against quality opposition that neither Tunisia nor Panama provided. These three decisions by the manager already made England short-handed against a vastly superior Belgium side on Saturday.

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#3 Phil Jones

Hazard once again was Jones' nightmare

When he burst onto the scene in 2011, Sir Alex Ferguson showered him with lots of praise. He used to be gambled on by being played as a defensive midfielder or as a centre back.

Even as he developed to a regular central defender, Jones has always shown a bit of nervousness, especially in big matches. Playing Phil Jones was a big mistake by Southgate. When faced by a technically gifted and pacy attacker, Jones would be at most times exposed defensively.

Southgate should have known Jones' history against Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne who he would most likely line up against in the wings. Hazard badly exposed Jones in the FA Cup final prior to the World Cup. Chelsea won 1-0 as a result of Jones bringing down Hazard in the box to concede a penalty. The same scenario played out on Saturday.

De Bruyne's through ball proved too much for Jones to handle. Once the ball fell to Hazard, there was only going to be one outcome. Hazard's goal sucked the life out of England's resolve and they could not recover.

#2 Playing one holding midfielder

Dier was exposed as the only holding midfielder

Throughout the competition, Southgate played a 3-5-2 formation. The problem with that formation was the kind of players he put out there. Against smaller sides such as Tunisia and Panama, England would have gotten away with it. From the Colombia match, England were overrun in the midfield area.

Jordan Henderson could not perform this role alone. His support system was Jesse Lingard and Delete Alli who are neither physically imposing or defensive minded.

On Saturday, Southgate brought in Eric Dier for Henderson instead of playing the duo. Fabian Delph, who started on the left of the midfield, lacked the physique or clout to match Belgium's midfielders.

Yes, England dictated much of the possession but it was always Belgium who looked menacing every time they launched counterattacks. It was no secret why England was carved open twice as they conceded both goals.

Ashley Young would have been a better option instead of Danny Rose. Young hardly made a foot wrong in the tournament. Rose was guilty of walking instead of tracking Thomas Meunier's run who was lurking dangerously behind him as England conceded within the opening five minutes.

#1 Playing Raheem Sterling

Sterling could not do much against the physically imposing Belgians

The biggest question that lingers in every England supporter's mind is was Sterling the best attacking option for the Three Lions? Of all the England players who donned the jersey, Sterling was given the most opportunities to perform and flopped at every turn. Isn't the manager supposed to crack the whip if players underperform?

England had 20-goal a season Jamie Vardy on the bench who could naturally slot into the second striker position. Also, there was Marcus Rashford at his disposal who was often called upon to influence the game from the substitute's bench.

So was Sterling deployed to cause problems to the towering three 6 ft plus centre-backs for Belgium? The same Sterling who could not score into an empty net against Sweden let alone square the ball to two of his free teammates to do so?

If ever England needed some creative spark and more importantly goals against a superior team then surely Sterling would not be the answer. Even substituting him at halftime did little to redeem Southgate's image as a poor tactical decision maker. His blind faith in Sterling in some way contributed to England not having a chance to finish better than fourth which in its own right is an achievement.