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The international hiatus ended in a loss and another display without a creative source for the 10-man England that fell 1-0 to Denmark at Wembley in the Nations League.
Dressed in blue, England had some scoring looks early on, although there were no clear chances in the way of Harry Kane and his fellow forwards.
The night took a turn for the worse around the half hour mark, when Harry Maguire received a second yellow card and a subsequent red card for two terrible late tackles, before Kyle Walker was harshly tried for foul in the penalty area. and Christian Eriksen scored the resulting penalty.
Mason Mount’s header from six yards was spectacularly saved by Kasper Schmeichel in the second half and England had their own penalty call denied, but Gareth Southgate’s team couldn’t find their way into another performance that lacks attacking intent.
Here are five things we learned from the game at Wembley.
For the third time in the last five international matches, England conceded a penalty.
Joe Gomez, Eric Dier and now Walker have all been penalized for careless moments on defense – not necessarily all directly from those players, it must be said.
But it follows a pattern for England of late, where displays on the field somehow reflect a lack of focus, sheer professionalism, and diligent care of business off the field.
From breaking protocols to players putting themselves in uncompromising positions, it hasn’t been the best of years for the national team, despite recent scores.
This performance was an extension of it on the field and it is clear that changes are needed in intensity and the demands of the players.
It has not been the best of fortnights for Maguire. The Manchester United defender has not started the season in good individual form, while his team’s level of performance is also poor.
As captain, you also take on an additional layer of responsibility for those failures across the team.
Here, he had a torrid half hour: poor control leading to overstretching, passing drift, displacing left channel with runs from the center, and then those two miscalculated and poorly judged challenges.
He certainly had a bleak figure coming off the pitch, perhaps demanding sympathy in some quarters for a player going through an obviously difficult time, but his club urgently needs him to rediscover confidence and mental stamina quickly.
Mount and James make the claim
On the positive, then. It was England’s right side that really stood out in the early part of the game, with the wide right central, winger and forward triangle showing understanding and the ability to bond perfectly.
It wasn’t exactly an attack, but the best moves for the home team came down that channel, with Reece James showing good crossing ability, Mason Mount’s industry and smart move breaking new ground more than once, and Kyle Walker backing both of them. with races to the canal.
Walker’s experience, versatility and speed make him a decent option for Southgate to consider at any time, but James in particular has a great fight on his hands for a spot on the team, given the number of right-backs available.
So this performance, along with his club teammate Mount, perhaps brings him to the manager’s mind for when smaller squads need to be chosen.
Versatility is a necessary tool for most footballers these days, but it was still remarkable how many England players were outside of their normal roles.
Of course, there was Ainsley Maitland-Niles on the left, but that’s a common thing for him now. Walker then came out later, while Conor Coady, named specifically for his experience in a three-man defense, actually spent two-thirds of the game playing as one of the two central defenders.
Marcus Rashford and Mount played most of the game as regulation-width midfielders on a 4-4-1 post-red card, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin came in as a substitute … on the left, rather than the means where he has really earned his England remembers.
It was a case of necessity, up to a point, of course, as England looked for a draw, but it still points to a lack of cohesion, a sound selection, and a strange refusal to play individuals who have shone in wider areas like Jack Grealish or Harvey Barnes.
With all due apologies to the players who undoubtedly enjoy being part of the national team setup, the prevailing thinking on the field of public opinion seems to be of the “thank God it’s over” type.
Simply put, people didn’t care much about the League of Nations even before 2020, and given the broader circumstances at stake in the world, the timing, the risks, and the largely uninspiring fare served up on stage. international for England mean it is uniform. rather a case of wanting to finish the two weeks and finish them.
Few, if any, fans are happy with an additional accessory. Most of the club’s fans just hope their players won’t be asked to play for more than a game and a half, and come back without Covid-19.
The social media responses to England’s account announcing that New Zealand had pulled out of next month’s friendly and that a new opponent would be announced in due course say it all: people have to be worried right now, and international football seems to increase that, without detracting from it.
Club football returns at the weekend and few will remember the last fortnight as a highlight of the first half of 2020/21.
