After a humiliating 4-0 defeat at home against Hungary this summer, England manager Gareth Southgate held his hands up for a performance that he said had been a “really painful” experience. “I got it wrong,” he said.

The defeat was the low point in the bruising Nations League campaign, which ended with no wins from six matches and relegation to the competition’s second tier for the team that just a year earlier had lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties. England’s last win came in a friendly against C?te d’Ivoire in March.

While accepting responsibility, Southgate also pointed to “mitigating circumstances” for the poor run of form, namely the number of inexperienced players donning the England shirt. The team should be judged when at their strongest, which he insisted would be at this World Cup.