It might not be easy fathoming out how the Nations League works but, one game in, there is already a potential scenario that suddenly feels much more realistic – namely that Gareth Southgate could become the first manager to be relegated in the Premier League and with the England team.

A touch harsh? Maybe, when Southgate has done so much to enhance his own reputation during his time in charge of England that one of the topics of discussion before he left Wembley on Saturday was the FA’s promise of a new contract offer and why, specifically, nothing more had come of it.

Rodrigo consigns England to defeat by Spain in first post-World Cup match Read more

Southgate, for the record, has “absolutely no problem” with the attention that falls on the England manager. Did he make it clear he wanted to extend his stay and saw the job as a long-term venture? Not quite. But these matters always tend to take longer than anticipated.

“I want to be in games that matter. I believe I’ve been through an experience that is as pressured as you’re ever going to face, at any club or international team, so I’m totally comfortable, and what’s beyond that is to be decided. I’m under contract, I’m enjoying the role, I love the challenge and that’s it.”

He did also make the point, however, that he is acutely aware it will not get any easier for England. The next game in League A of this convoluted competition will be in Rijeka on 12 October against the Croatia side that put them out of the World Cup. Three days later, in Seville, it will be a rematch with the Spain team who reminded us in their 2-1 win at Wembley that England still have a lot to learn when it comes to looking after a football.

England have lost three games in a row for the first time since Euro 88 and, once again, Southgate was left to lament the absence of an elite game-changing midfielder.

“The only one in my lifetime is [Paul] Gascoigne,” said a man of 48, 14 years since Gascoigne last kicked a ball in professional football.

Southgate also spoke about still needing to “find the best way” for his team to play, which was a surprise to those who believed he had dedicated himself to the current 3-3-2-2 structure, but it was heartening to hear him emphasise his belief in the kind of football that led to such a brilliantly constructed goal for Marcus Rashford at Wembley.

Rashford, it turned out, was one of the players with a slightly modified role on the basis Southgate had started to suspect that, in his previous England appearances, the Manchester United striker was spending too much time too far away from the opposition goal. This time it was different. “He knows we have real belief in him,” Southgate said. “He scored a goal and he was in the penalty box more. At times his previous goals have come outside the box and we know he can hit the ball. But we’ve been encouraging him to get higher up the pitch and not drop quite as deep, and he got his reward for that.”

Not that Rashford is guaranteed a place in Tuesday’s friendly against Switzerland at Leicester, when Southgate will name a much-changed side. “We have to give the other players a start,” the manager said. “It’s important for their development and, physically, there are a lot of players who haven’t had a game of football yet this season. They need – having come away for 10 days – football. So, I think, on this occasion, that’s the approach we have to take.”

Ruben Loftus-Cheek can expect to start. Kyle Walker, who lost his place to Joe Gomez against Spain, is expected to return to the side. Danny Rose will take over from Luke Shaw and there might also be starts for Jack Butland, James Tarkowski and Fabien Delph in what will be a calculated gamble on Southgate’s part, facing a side that regularly features in the top 10 of Fifa’s world rankings. England have never lost more than three matches in a row throughout 146 years of international football. Indeed, there have been only four occasions, other than Euro 88, when they have experienced three successive defeats – in 1985, 1936, another from 1927 to 1928 and, first of all, 1876 to 1878.

“We have to look at everything,” Southgate said. “I knew this period would be an exceptional challenge and will tell us a lot about exactly where we stand, but I think that’s good for us. We have two of the world’s best teams in our group. We have to go through those experiences, otherwise we would go into a finals tournament in two years’ time and, if we were just playing qualifiers now against lower standard opposition, we might have a perception of where we are, which would be false. I think after the next few months we will be very clear.”

It sounded as if Southgate, who has made it clear he does not want to keep harking back to the adventures of the World Cup, felt England’s defeat by Spain was a reality check. “If anybody wasn’t aware of it, then yes,” he said. “But I don’t think we were under any illusions, as a coaching team. We know there’s a distance to go until we are with the very top teams. At moments we compete and we look like being able to create chances. But there’s a level for us to go and that’s a really good challenge for us over the next couple of years.”