England 0-1 Belgium: Rating the players

Ian Watson

JORDAN PICKFORD
Was England’s No.1 playing in mittens? It seemed so given his main contributions were blocks rather than catches, and slaps rather than parries or punches. Pickford had more to do in the opening 10 minutes than the previous two matches combined and it was a jittery start which set the tone for the night. First, Youri Tielemans’ long-ranger was met with a double-handed parry that saw the ball rebound back into play; then he failed to decisively gather a loose ball which Michy Batshuayi almost bundled over the line. His attempt at keeping out Adnan Januazaj’s shot has already been flagged up with pundits questioning his decision to lead with his top hand. But it was the correct option and had his starting position been a half-step towards his right, he might have got a full palm on the ball rather than his fingertips. The two-handed slap was seen again late on, though, and his habit of keeping attacks alive with his saves is something that will surely get plenty of attention on the training ground before Falcao and Co. are let loose on the rebounds next Tuesday. However tidy he might be with his feet, his hands were rather less reliable.

 

TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
The 19-year-old won only his second cap but to the shock of absolutely nobody, Alexander-Arnold looked like a seasoned international. The understudy was trusted with all of Kieran Tripper’s responsibilities, including the taking of every set-piece, despite whatever claim Marcus Rashford might have had to them. The quality of his delivery, though, was somewhat lacking as was his final ball on the occasions he turned Thorgan Hazard towards his own goal, which was clearly part of the game plan given the number of times England tried the long diagonal in the teenager’s direction.

 

JOHN STONES
One of the three players retained from Sunday was given a 45-minute workout, moving to the left of Southgate’s three-man defence. The Manchester City defender made one telling block when Batshuayi threatened to take him on down the outside. Stones’ passing range was evident, with each of the silky centre-half’s five long passes finding their target.

 

GARY CAHILL
The experienced defender looked far more comfortable when he returned to his central role at Chelsea and that theme continued here. Cahill got his keeper out of trouble when he hacked off England’s goal-line inside the opening nine minutes and for a defender supposedly not as comfortable on the ball, he never looked ruffled when involved in working possession out from the back. A solid run-out before he returns to the bench.

 

PHIL JONES
The Manchester United centre-back, taking Kyle Walker’s place on the right of central defence, spent much of the evening in a fight with Marouane Fellaini and came out of it with his credibility and good looks intact. Like Cahill, Jones offered Southgate the reassurance that if the manager is stripped of one of his first-choice trio, then there is reliable defensive cover within the ranks, even if he lacks Walker’s attacking traits.

 

DANNY ROSE
The Tottenham left-back is still a shadow of the player rated at £50million not too long ago but his surges down the left at least offered a glimpse of what Rose can offer. He drew the two bookings in the first half, though they were probably welcomed by Belgium in the circumstances. Whatever good work he produced, though, will be overshadowed by his contribution towards the winning goal, when he almost went down on one knee for Januzaj to allow the winger on the inside to score.

 

ERIC DIER
People question Jordan Henderson’s contribution and his two performances in England’s victories provided a resounding answer. The same doubts have been expressed of Dier but England’s captain failed to respond in similarly defiant fashion. Of course, a battle with Mousa Dembele and Fellaini is a more difficult proposition than whatever Henderson faced against Tunisia and Panama, but Dier lacked the dynamism to dominate his Belgium counterparts defensively and the nous to contribute creatively. Daniel Storey concluded Dier was ‘rotten’…

 

FABIAN DELPH
Seemed similarly off the pace playing to the left of Dier and the Manchester City utility man appeared exactly that – an ideal squad player to fill in here and there. But he lacks the imagination and timing of Dele Alli or Jesse Lingard; which is an exceptionally harsh criticism but that link between midfield and attack was sorely lacking in Kaliningrad.

 

RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK
Similarly to the win over Panama, Loftus-Cheek offered glimpses of his drive rather than a consistent threat. With Vardy and Rashford staying centrally and England’s plan to isolate Belgium’s wing-backs with quick diagonals, the Chelsea man was left with little room to operate and few pockets to drop into until the game opened up more in the second period, which is when he will likely be used from here on.

 

MARCUS RASHFORD
“Didn’t hapen for him tonight,” was Southgate’s initial verdict and it’s a fair summary. Rashford stayed central alongside Vardy during the first half meaning the England pair were comfortably pinned in by Belgium’s three centre-halves. With both strikers looking to run in behind their opponents, both were trying to feed off long balls, none of which were as perfect or precise as they needed to be, and neither forward dropped deep to turn and slide in the other. At least in the second half Vardy and Rashford combined, but the latter wasted two opportunities, the second of which saw him put clean through on Thibaut Courtois. The 20-year-old lacked the finishing touch twice when trying to bend the ball inside the far post but still showed the directness and drive that makes him such a threat. Ended the night uncomfortably at right wing-back.

 

JAMIE VARDY
Seemingly anchored between the width of the posts with the Leicester striker playing as Rashford’s pivot, Vardy was given not one opportunity to stretch Belgium during a first-half in which he made a total of seven passes, with three failing to find a white shirt. He fared little better in the second period, though he teed Rashford up twice for opportunities he must have wished for himself. Vardy would prefer to plough a lone furrow but he will have to get used to working as a pair under Southgate.

 

Substitutes

HARRY MAGUIRE (on for Stones, 46)
Split the shift with Stones and passed his first major test 10 minutes in when Januzaj squared him up but the big centre-half didn’t fall for it like Rose did moments earlier. Carried the ball as well as any of England’s centre-halves.

DANNY WELBECK (on for Alesander-Arnold, 78)
The Arsenal striker’s two shots during a 12-minute cameo summed up what many believe to be true about Welbeck. He first grafted to get off an effort which seemed destined to find it’s way through to the bottom corner until Fellaini got in the way; then he lost his bearings entirely when he tried to moved into position to receive a quick free-kick but his attempt to spin the ball around Courtois ended with it being comically toe-poked straight into the crowd.