England need to stop over-reliance on Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling admits Gareth Southgate
Harry Kane of England
England boss Gareth Southgate wants his side to stop relying on Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling for goals, and has challenged other players in the squad to step up.
The Three Lions endured a goalless draw with Italy on Saturday night as their winless start to the UEFA Nations League campaign continued.
England, who have scored just one goal in 270 minutes of international football, are currently bottom of their group after three underwhelming performances.
While Southgate was pleased with his team's general performance, he is concerned about England's over-reliance on Kane and Sterling to produce goals.
The duo have scored 10 of England's last 21 efforts, with Kane quickly approaching Wayne Rooney's goalscoring record.
Southgate told Channel 4: "I said earlier in the week, we've been too reliant on Harry [Kane] and Raheem [Sterling] on our goals. Other players have got to step in to that place.
"A number of them do it for their clubs, but at international level, at the moment, they haven't managed to convert that.
"We've looked dangerous without getting the goals that are needed in the bigger games."
During the last three games, Southgate has somewhat experimented with his side as he continues to prepare for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
When asked who impressed him, the England boss said: "I thought today that Aaron Ramsdale did very very well. He made a couple of really important saves. I thought his composure with the ball was exactly what we hoped.
"I thought Fikayo [Tomori] also did very well, [I'm] really pleased that he's come through from the slight injury he had. That's going to give us more depth in that area of the pitch.
"I thought James Ward-Prowse did well today. He used the ball well, he controlled the game. His passing was good.
"I think there have been some positives from the players we needed to have a look at."
Saturday's match with Italy was played behind closed doors, and Southgate admitted he is looking forward to welcoming back the crowd for Tuesday's home clash against Hungary.
He said: "This has been a difficult series of games because two away games, you can see with Hungary how difficult they are to play against from their result today with Germany. Then to go to Munich. Then, when we have the advantage, we don't have an advantage because we don't have a crowd.
"That's been tough for the players because physically and psychologically that's tough. You know a stadium like this, the crowd can really lift you. Without a doubt, we're looking forward to that on Tuesday."
