Southgate exorcising ghosts in England's sputtering machine

LONDON - By dropping Wayne Rooney and dragging his players out of their comfort zones, England manager Gareth Southgate is attempting to jettison memories of the team's calamitous 2016 and propel it to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Humiliated by Iceland at Euro 2016, England then saw Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson's successor as manager, brought down by a newspaper sting after just one game in charge.

Southgate has done his best to steady the ship, initially on a temporary basis and now full time, and steeling his young players for adversity has been his top priority.