An emotional speech from Wayne Rooney was the only thing keeping England’s players from a Gareth Southgate rollicking.

The players had just left the Wembley pitch following their 3-0 win against the USA and the manager was not happy with some of the defensive work in the second half.

It was all good from an attacking perspective, but Southgate thought his players switched off defensively after the break, and was ready to let them have it.

Except Rooney, who was close to tears, was talking to his team-mates.

“I didn’t like us as much without the ball, and they got through us too easily, and we didn’t play with discipline in the end,” Southgate said after the match. “If we do that [against Croatia] on Sunday, we will lose.

“We haven’t had that discussion because Wayne gave a really nice speech at the end and I didn’t want to rain on his parade, but we’ll be making that point. We have to play with intelligence right through the game.”

England cannot afford to slip up against Croatia, as a defeat will relegate them to League B of the Nations League and condemn them to fixtures against lesser opposition in the next cycle.

A goalless draw would result in Spain winning the group and Croatia being relegated despite the World Cup finalists beating Luis Enrique’s 3-2 side last night.

The team, though, are in good hands according to Rooney, England’s top scoring player with 53 goals.

“I think it’s in very safe hands from what I’ve seen this week,” he said. “It’s a great group of young players who have a really bright future. I’m sure in the next few years they will go close to bringing a trophy back. I’ll be one of the fans supporting them.”

He also thinks Harry Kane, who has 19 goals in 34 games, will eventually surpass his haul.

“Before the game I asked Harry to present me with the award because I believe he will beat my goalscoring record and I look forward to presenting him with the trophy,” he added.