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José Mourinho will not have liked this one bit, and he will not have been alone.
Harry Kane, for 90 minutes, will have enraged the Tottenham manager. Jack Grealish, who was away for the same amount of time, could have done it for the rest of the country. There was also a red card for Harry Maguire, chaos surrounding Jordan Pickford and a loss that makes it difficult for England to return to the UEFA Nations League finals. However, it was the lack of style in an England team that we fondly imagine being overrun by it that disappointed the most.
When Grealish excelled against Wales at Wembley last week, most thought he would at least have a role to play in competitive internationals. However, in a game where, with ten men after 31 minutes, England needed a ball carrier, a striker who could run towards opponents, beat a man, perhaps commit a foul, he sat down without being dear among the unused substitutes.
Instead, like replacements abounded. Jordan Henderson by Declan Rice; Dominic Calvert-Lewin for Marcus Rashford; a small exception with Jadon Sancho for Mason Mount. However, Grealish is one of the fit men at the start of this season. Aston Villa is flying and so is he. What could he lose in a match in which England were already behind?
So this was disappointing, as it must have been for Mourinho to see Kane still captaining when the final whistle blew, still taking a few kicks and struggling heavily to make an impact on the game. Gareth Southgate insisted the player was not injured – and had the scanners to prove it – but Mourinho had asked that Kane be treated with consideration and not abused; a full shift here was probably not what he had in mind.
Kudos to Southgate for being his own man. Some former England coaches may have relented under pressure from the club. At the same time, there is invariably a revenge after arguments like this, although the first can be verbal. We’ll find out if actions follow words, the next time an England team is named.
Overall it was a rough night for Southgate and England. Reece James was the best, forcing a brilliant save from Kasper Schmeichel with a late free kick, but problems persist, and also for some key players. The 2018 World Cup seems to have passed a long time for its rising star Harry Maguire.
The sad reality for Harry Maguire these days is that his name appears far too often in sentences that contain the word disorder. Manchester United defensive chaos; England defensive chaos. And there is Maguire, the world’s most expensive defender, increasingly unfortunate, the architect of his downfall. Rebounding on international duty following a 6-1 home loss for Manchester United to Tottenham, Maguire was sent off here after 31 minutes in what quickly turned into three minutes of calamity for England.
He didn’t start well either, booked after just five minutes by a poor tackle on Dane Yussuf Poulsen. Maguire dove in and caught Poulsen late and up, a pretty savage misjudgment. It could be said that it was more than a yellow, but little less than a red. Intense orange. Unable to produce a card of the right color, referee Jesús Gil Manzano opted for a warning. So it was extreme nonsense later in the half when Maguire tried to correct a mistake by throwing himself a second time.
There was little mitigation for this. It was a gruesome first touch for Maguire, not under extreme pressure, the ball bouncing off him and landing tantalizingly towards Kasper Dolberg, who smelled a break on goal. Maguire tried to recover, too desperate, too hastily, launching himself back at the tackle, front leg extended. He slashed the ball, but his follow-up wiped out the spirited Dolberg (he would be substituted shortly after the injury, so there is no indication of hype) and Manzano instantly reached for his scorecards.
Maguire had the basic cry of feigning innocence and protesting, but it was obvious that his heart was not in it. He knew this was his, the seventeenth red card for a fully justified senior England player. By the way, it doesn’t get any easier. Poulsen, the man who was too fast for him in the beginning, plays for Manchester United’s Champions League group rival RB Leipzig.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles was to be euthanized while England reorganized, with the introduction of Tyrone Mings, but before that happened, Gareth Southgate’s night took a significant turn for the worse. Another disaster unfolded.
Kyle Walker couldn’t deal with a relatively tame ball, Thomas Delaney hopped around while trying to control it. For whatever reason, Jordan Pickford saw this as an opportunity to get involved in the play. Who knows? Walker didn’t have the ball under control, but neither did Delaney. Pickford’s arrival on the scene simply added to the sense of panic, compounded by the fact that the goalkeeper was also unable to reach the ball. Walker managed to foul Delaney. Perhaps.
It didn’t seem like much, in fact, first impressions suggested both handball and a foul, though replays didn’t confirm it, but Delaney went down and Manzano pointed the spot. Southgate goes on to select Pickford arguing that he hasn’t made costly mistakes for England, but this was one. He made a complicated situation worse and confused issues instead of solving them. Christian Eriksen stepped up in his 100th appearance and drilled him right down the middle. Pickford politely stepped out of the way.
It was not a good half for England. Reece James put up some excellent crosses into the box, but England’s forwards couldn’t attack them. Mason Mount got into some good positions, but his last ball disappointed, kicking the grass once. The only time he passed the ball to Harry Kane, the England captain caught it underfoot and the danger passed. Kasper Schmeichel’s only save came from a 30-yard effort by Marcus Rashford, collected comfortably.
So Denmark seized the opportunity. Poulsen nearly put Dolberg at the near post after seven minutes, while Dolberg fell to meet Eriksen’s corner kick moments later, Kalvin Phillips deflected his shot just wide.
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Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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