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Kyle Walker impressed in his 50th appearance for England
England have been seeking notable victories under Gareth Southgate to answer charges that they are the bullies of international football.
In recent years, they’ve been in the habit of doing very little work for the teams they beat, especially in those gloriously quiet qualifying campaigns, only to come up short when facing the elite under pressure.
Remember the wellness factor from the race to the World Cup semifinal in Russia in 2018, put in a strong and painful relief from the fact that they deservedly lost to the best teams they met, Croatia in the last four in Moscow and Belgium in both the group stage and the play-off for third place?
Remember when they pulled off an outstanding result to beat Spain 3-2 in the last Nations League in Seville two years ago, only to be bitten by reality when they lost 3-1 to the Netherlands in the semi-final?
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So what are we going to do with a 2-1 win over Belgium, the world’s highest ranked team, in the Nations League at Wembley?
This victory was not a statement that England can shout loudly from the rooftops, but it is certainly one that Southgate and his players can speak of with great satisfaction.
England can talk about their ability to beat the best, although both sides did not have key individuals, but it should not be exaggerated either because they have had these brief moments in the past only to not take off.
What may delight Southgate the most here is that England achieved this victory without playing brilliantly; in fact, for most of the first half they were disappointingly negative and outweighed by the quality of Roberto Martinez’s team.
Winning is an art when there is nothing close to your best and England have developed a bit of that under Southgate.
If other countries are hailed for such perseverance, the ability to cash in on moments of good fortune, then it is rude not to praise England for displaying the same qualities here.
They deserve that compliment, but let’s not joke with anyone.
England captain Harry Kane was only fit enough to play the fourth quarter
This was not the best game anyone will ever see, played in a mysterious and empty Wembley with players like Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and Dries Mertens lost to Belgium, Raheem Sterling out of England and captain Harry Kane only available as a substitute.
It wasn’t the kind of performance from England where their rivals broke out in a cold sweat, but they did the job against the world’s highest-ranked country, inflicting a first defeat in 14 matches for the team that held the best record of all. European nation in the Euro 2020 classification.
It was also England’s first victory against a team that leads the FIFA rankings since they took a 1-0 win in Spain in 2011.
In other words, there was a lot of good news and a lot for the Southgate and England players to enjoy.
There will be times when they will have to play with a greater sense of adventure, when the Southgate team selection will have to be bolder than here, when they may not get that bit of good fortune that saw the winner in the 64th minute. from Mason Mount. a wild diversion from Toby Alderweireld to pass over Simon Mignolet.
This is for another day. Southgate can aim until the end justifying the media and England now lead Nations League Group A2, with Denmark arriving at Wembley on Wednesday.
The Southgate team got lucky here, but the trick is to cash in and England did exactly that.
The hosts made the most of their draw and in the second half looked organized, solid and resilient, restricting Belgium to a chance for Yannick Carrasco and avoiding any late scares as they closed out the win in relative comfort.
Kyle Walker did well in a three-man central defense and while England’s formation seemed unimaginative and lacking in ambition in midfield in the first half, with Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson at its center, it worked once They got into the game and provided great protection. as it progressed.
The message is clear.
England cannot get carried away by this one victory against a beautiful Belgian team. The lessons of history provide protection against that and there would still be big question marks against this defense of England against the best opposition when the heat of tournament football is most intense.
However, it is a very good victory when he is not at his best.
England may not have created waves of excitement, but there is a lot to be said for a victory, especially against a team like Belgium.
And this means that Southgate and his players have every justification for calling this a good night’s work.
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Source: bbc.com
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