The Three Lions defeated Iran 6-2 in Group B of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Iran forward Mehdi Taremi scored two goals in the second half.
“We are really pleased to have started in the way we have. Really pleased with our attacking play,” said Southgate.
“We know Iran is usually difficult to score goals against so that's a credit to our players, their movement, quality of their passing, quality of our finishing.
“But I didn't like the end of the game, to concede two goals isn't the form that we need. We are going to have to be better in certain aspects of our game against the US because it is going to be coming for us full throttle and we are going to have to reset,” he added.
“I don't want games where we drift as this one did. It was difficult because there was so much added time in both halves.
“I understand the focus drifting a little but that won't be enough for us to progress in the tournament. So, we still have a lot to do to qualify but it's still a really good start for us,” Southgate concluded.