Southgate bids to avoid second-game syndrome

Coach will hope his team have got their customary off-night out of the way early

- Malik Ouzia

HAVING watched Germany embarrass Scotland on opening night, then Spain pick apart a decent opponent in Croatia in good style, there could be no denying that England's 1-0 victory over Serbia - solid result though it was felt a little underwhelming.

Context, though, has been kinder to Gareth Southgate in the days since, and his reminders about both the awkwardness and importance of the first group match of any tournament feel more vindicated now that Belgium have been beaten and Portugal and France made to work hard for their own opening victories, also by just a single goal.

"Today it's not about assessing this game from the technical or tactical point of view," said Portugal boss Roberto Martinez, after his team came from behind to beat Czech Republic 2-1 on Tuesday, an instruction that, assuming the Portuguese media and fanbase are anything like ours, will have fallen on deaf ears.

The question ahead of today's Group C meeting with Denmark here in Frankfurt, then, is of where England's campaign goes next.

It has been a theme of the past two tournaments under Southgate, and indeed many of those long before he took charge, that even in the course of relatively serene qualifications England tend to throw in a bit of a stinker somewhere to temper the mood.