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The image did not match the carefree nature of the half: there was Jesse Lingard, hands on hips, muttering as he looked up at the sky.
Gareth Southgate had wanted to see the England players with a smile on their faces against San Marino, this being a rare match when the challenge was how big the final score would be, so the sight of Lingard cursing in the 28th minute, after a pass to Reece James twisted, caught your eye.
Here was the action of a man desperate to impress.
He had spent a lot of time between the Lingard dances in an England jersey (656 days to be precise) and you could see how much it meant to him to be back on this stage.
So what if San Marino was the opponent? For all those who roll their eyes on the standard of Thursday night visitors to Wembley, they just had to speak to the men Southgate had called up for this triple title to appreciate what it meant to them to represent England.
John Stones, for example, couldn’t help but smile on Tuesday as he spoke of ending his international hiatus, but for Lingard, the sense of accomplishment was possibly even deeper: Two months ago, such a scenario would have seemed possible.
The first half of this season for Lingard could safely be described as miserable; his action was limited to 99 minutes in two Carabao Cup appearances, against Luton and Brighton, plus 80 minutes against Watford in the FA Cup.
How could he hope to play for England?
Even after he joined West Ham on loan, not even his biggest fan would have considered going to the European Championship. Soccer, however, is the game where you should never say never and fate presented Lingard with a way back.
Of course, it helps to have the trust of managers.
David Moyes has known all about Lingard since he was a youngster at Old Trafford and approved a loan to Birmingham in 2013 to help with his education; Moyes wanted him to see her cope with a demanding crowd behind her.
The move was inspired (Lingard got off to a good start by scoring four goals on his debut against Sheffield Wednesday) and shortly thereafter was taken under Southgate’s protection when he was in charge of England’s under-21 team.
During a period when he struggled with injuries, Southgate always made an effort to verify his name in team announcements and made it clear that there would be a place for him when he was fit and available. About eight years, that is still the case.
“He has shown a lot of support and a lot of confidence in me,” Lingard acknowledged earlier this week.
“ It was the first to give me my debut in England, of which I am proud. I kept in touch with him, even though I wasn’t playing just to get his advice on what I should do. ‘
There was something appropriate about Lingard, who made his debut in Southgate’s first match in charge of the seniors against Malta in October 2016, returning for the head coach’s 50th match.
He explained, then, why he was so eager to make an impact, starting for the first time since the Nations League bronze medal playoff against Switzerland in June 2019. He was everywhere in the opening exchanges, buzzing wildly. in the gaps.
He had the first shot on goal in the 11th minute, but Elia Benedettini, the San Marino goalkeeper, was up to the task; There was another attempt in the 23rd minute that was blocked as he moved his lines running towards the center of Ben Chilwell in the 35th minute.
Just before the break, it seemed certain he would score, but Benedettini, who was not playing as a reserve for an Italian third-division team, showed tremendous agility in coming down and rejecting a lateral effort from Raheem Sterling’s cut.
If he was frustrated, he didn’t have to be. Lingard finally made a contribution to the statistician when he scored Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s second goal in the 53rd minute, but there was more to this performance than numbers.
He was a footballer who showed great power of recovery: such an attitude could lead him to the European Championship.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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