State of the Nation '“ Football: Things can surely only get better for Southgate and England

Euro 2016 was abject, the manner of the exit to minnows Iceland perfectly in keeping with how Roy Hodgson’s side had stumbled their way around France to little or no effect.

Even the one solitary win by the Three Lions in last summer’s finals came via a stoppage-time strike from Daniel Sturridge.

That wretched showing, though, was just the start of England’s troubles in 2016 with Hodgson’s dismissal being followed by the farce of Sam Allardyce’s one-game reign and then Gareth Southgate stepping in on an interim basis.

Southgate’s side top Group F and are yet to concede a goal in four World Cup qualifiers but that is more to do with the weakness of others than any inspired play on the part of the Three Lions.

Plus, the national team rarely has trouble qualifying for major tournaments. The problems come once we get there and suddenly have to take on half-decent teams. Southgate will know this better than anyone and the manner in which England signed off 2016 suggests he has a lot of work to do if this failing is to be rectified any time soon.

Spain’s visit for a friendly was always going to provide a sterner test than Scotland in the final qualifier of the year a few days earlier. England played well for long periods in a game that, as often happens with such fixtures, drifted for a while. They also opened a two-goal lead against a Spanish side lacking stars such as Andres Iniesta, David De Gea, Giego Costa and Gerard Pique.

However, when the visitors belatedly started to play at anything approaching the standards that had brought so much success over the previous decade, England fell apart. Goals from Iago Aspas and Isco capped a stirring fightback and, worst of all, there was nothing Southgate’s men could do about it.

Like Uruguay in 2014, Italy two years before that and Germany in South Africa, England simply had no answer to a team capable of slipping through the gears and it will be a brave man willing to put money on anything but a repeat if, as seems likely, a place at next year’s World Cup in Russia is secured over the coming months.

England’s travails run deeper than merely tinkering with personnel, as those who spend the days either side of every international break urging Soutgate to dump Wayne Rooney or whoever else has become the nation’s scapegoat that week tend to forget. There is a brittleness at the heart of the Three Lions that has become more prevalent with each passing year.

A culture that rewards ordinary play with telephone number salaries has bred a generation lacking the necessary mettle to dig in when the going gets tough. Fame and fortune have come too easily, and the upshot is the moment England run into a major nation – or even one as disciplined and well-drilled as Iceland last June – they fold.

Confidence drains away, and as that happens the inevitable lapses in concentration follow. Bucking that trend in even the medium term is going to be very difficult, meaning Southgate, confirmed permanently in the post after that 2-2 draw with Spain at Wembley, is up against it already.

It is not all doom and gloom, even if last year was probably as bad as it has got since Steve McClaren’s ill-fated reign.

John Stones, despite several high-profile mistakes, remains a huge talent and has the potential to blossom further, while Adam Lallana’s performances for club and country continue to grow. Jack Wilshere enjoying a season uninterrupted by injury also means we may finally get to see the player that Fabio Capello once tipped as a future great and Harry Kane’s goal-scoring exploits show no sign of easing up any time soon. Doncaster-born Danny Rose is another whose star continues to rise in the Premier League.

Southgate worked with all these players at Under-21s level and enjoyed success. Doing the same at senior level will not be easy but, after a year like 2016 when Murphy’s Law reigned when it came to the national team, surely 2017 has to be an improvement.