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John Stones grimaced and raised an apologetic hand. It was a moment of horror and the central defender was unable to hide, a slip that presented Poland with a draw to surprise England and briefly awaken dark thoughts. Stones thought he had time to get the ball out from the edge of his penalty area, but he didn’t. It was stolen by Jakub Moder and seconds later the Polish midfielder had fired a shot at Nick Pope.
Stones did not hide. He and England shook their heads and pushed again, eager to rekindle the memory of an excellent first-half performance in which Harry Kane had scored from the penalty spot and Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling shone at 4- 3- by Gareth Southgate. 3 training.
It was a testament to the Stones character, helping him to recover from a similar lapse in the Nations League semi-final defeat against the Netherlands in June 2019 and a long period away from the international scene, which was instrumental in the late goal. . That made the tie go back to favor England.
Stones jumped with tremendous athleticism at the far post to finish off a corner from Foden down and to the other side and there was Harry Maguire to pivot and launch a shot through Wojciech Szczesny’s hands and onto the roof of the net. England could breathe. It wouldn’t hurt your hopes of qualifying for the World Cup here.
Southgate’s starter system sparked debate and possibility. Despite his talk of flexibility, he was expected to return to his three-man defense, to what he does best, to what gives him security. It was one thing to use a back four against San Marino and Albania. Against Poland it would be different. And yet it was not so. This was Gareth The Bold, a creature that some fans feared would go extinct.
England dominated possession early on and took control with a penalty, one that confirms the feeling that defenders cannot afford to make any contact inside the box. Phil Foden won the ball and fueled Sterling, whose acceleration was too strong for Poland to handle. Having moved away from Grzegorz Krychowiak, he saw Michal Helik hit the ground near the baseline to block the anticipated crossing. Sterling slowed down, felt Helik’s leg catch him, and sank. From Poland’s point of view, it was smooth. Kane landed the kick through the middle toward the top of the net.
Mount will say that the left of a three in the middle of the field is his favorite position and it stood out during a pleasant performance from England in the first half. His passing was quick and incisive, either to free Ben Chilwell in the left-back overlap or to have Sterling break through in 28 minutes after a trade with Kane. Sterling tried to usher in Foden with a direct pass only for Jan Bednarek to launch into a block. If he’d had his time again, Sterling would have fired.
Sterling was a threat from the left, his highlight coming when he passed over three red jerseys inside the area, but not a fourth. He forced the defenders back, making them uncomfortable, making things happen. They did not dare to touch it. They couldn’t live with him either because of the rhythm.
Foden was also very involved from the right, his touch and balance were a delight. He headed off the opening run and it was his launch from Mount’s pass that gave Kane a sight of goal in the 31st minute. Kane unloaded a low shot that Szczesny did well to deflect.
It was Poland coach Paulo Sousa who had started with the central third half, which was a surprise, though not as big as his decision to prefer Karol Swiderski to Arkadiusz Milik up front. The visitors offered nothing as a threat of attack in the first 45 minutes. It was easy to tell that they missed their wounded talisman, Robert Lewandowski, but they had to do more.
Sousa replaced Swiderski with Milik at halftime and should have told his players that they had to fight more. Milik was booked in 30 seconds for putting his foot on Kane. Ten minutes later, Sousa traded a center midfielder, Helik, for a winger, Kamil Jozwiak, and went to 4-4-2. And moments later, Poland was level.
Stones had suffered a cable crossover with Pope in the 54th minute, as he tried to return a ball to him under pressure from Krzysztof Piatek. The Polish striker was charged with a foul. Now, Stones wanted too long after Pope threw a ball at him, his second touch was particularly strong and Moder was on him in an instant, winning the ball and then recovering it from Milik. Moder lifted a cold finish past Pope and the game had turned around.
England staggered and Milik lined up a knockout punch only to finish off a wide header. And yet the Southgate team returned. Foden moved closer, Mount blinked, and there at the end was Stones to Maguire.
