World Cup Roundup – England Remain Top of Group B, Qatar Eliminated

Qatar is a terrible country with terrible laws and FIFA are holding a World Cup on the backs of slave labor.

Qatar vs. Senegal

Senegal won 3-1 and never really looked like being seriously threatened. Qatar are simply not good enough to compete at this level, and they only qualified because they’re the host nation. I do not wish any ill will towards the individual players in the team, but its frankly a sham that they’re even here at the tournament. Very happy to see them go out. They are not only the first team eliminated this year, they are the first host nation to be eliminated after two matches.

Ecuador vs. Netherlands

The surprising Ecuadorians managed to get themselves a 1-1 draw with a much more talented Netherlands side thanks to a late goal from Enner Valencia, who is now top-scorer at this World Cup with 3 goals. Striker Cody Gakpo had put the Dutch ahead with a very good strike early on, but the Dutch could not find a second and Ecuador came away with a very important point.

Group A is now down to three teams – Ecuador, Netherlands, and Senegal. Given that the Dutch play Qatar in their last match, they’ll be fancied to go through. Second place (and maybe first, depending on the goal differential) is going to come down to the Ecuador vs. Senegal match. Ecuador’s hopes are pinned largely on the fitness of Valencia, who was stretchered off with injury in this match after scoring.

Wales vs. Iran

This was the minor upset of the day, with Iran winning 2-0 thanks to two late goals. The game was choppy and staccato for most of it’s duration, but it all really kicked off in the final 15 minutes of play. Wales keeper Wayne Hennessey was sent off on 86 minutes for a bad foul after he failed to get to the ball ahead of an onrushing Iranian forward. The collision was a tough one to watch and it’s hard to argue against the red card there. Wales were down a man and their starting keeper, which certainly had an effect on them.

Iran got their breakthrough goal towards the end of 9 minutes of stoppage time via substitute midfielder Roozbeh Chesmi. The Welsh defense only half-cleared a cross from the left, and it fell to Chesmi in acres of space just outside the box. He unleashed a finessed shot from the edge of the box into the right side of the goal past substitute keeper Danny Ward. A late winner is always sensational to witness, and this was no exception. All the Iranian fans in attendance were beside themselves, and rightly so.

Wales poured forward to find an equalizer, but were instead hit for a second in the 11th minute of stoppage time on the counter-attack by winger Ramin Rezaeian. Iran had an extra man over on the Welsh, and it was a simple pass and chipped finish that sealed a famous three points for them. Well done to those lads for going and getting a result like this. There is an awful lot of political turmoil in that country right now, and the emotions of winning a match like this might give their fellow countrymen (and women!) something to cheer for when it’s desperately needed.

Wales, for their part, were very poor. They were never really in this match. Their two best players – Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey – failed to make any significant impact. While Wales are not mathematically eliminated, they need a victory over England and for the other match to go their way in order to get out of this group. They currently sit bottom of the group on 1 point. Iran are 2nd with 3 points.

England vs. USA

Alright, here we go. This is the one I have been waiting on since the groups were announced. As an England fan living in America, this one was always going to be a special match. I was secretly expecting England to win, but mainly I really did not want the Three Lions to lose. American football fans online are insufferable when they win, and if they beat England the vitriol would be positively prolific. Unfortunately, it turned out to be one to forget for the neutral. A 0-0 draw is usually not a formula for an entertaining match.

The headline here is that England played poorly and the Americans played slightly better than most expected. Striker Harry Kane had the first half chance at the goal around the 10 minute mark, but his effort was blocked by a US defender. American midfielder Weston McKennie blazed over keeper Jordan Pickford’s bar from inside the box about 10 minutes after that, and then USA midfielder Christian Pulisic hit the crossbar from a tight angle on 33 minutes. England’s next good chance came just before half time, with midfielder Mason Mount’s effort parried away from distance by American keeper Matt Turner.

There were even fewer chances in the second half. England were defending well thanks to Harry Maguire and John Stones, but the attack was absolutely dismal. Maguire was on hand to clear a succession of corners around the hour mark, but again England could not find consistency going forward. Kane looked decidedly off the pace today, as did wingers Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka.

And once again, the main question about this England team is the manager. Gareth Southgate named an unchanged side today and also did not really change the tactics from the Iran match, which ultimately was to England’s detriment. But the much bigger issue is his repeated inability to make the substitution or tactical change that enables England to find a way through. Most would agree with bringing Jack Grealish on, but why also a defensive midfielder in Jordan Henderson when England need a goal? But why not start Grealish outright? Why wait so long to bring on winger/forward Marcus Rashford when Saka and Sterling are clearly struggling? Why keep starting Mason Mount when we have the likes of Phil Foden on the bench? Why not use Foden at all? These honest and fair questions surrounding his managerial skills will continue to be asked every time England doesn’t get a good result. Southgate clearly believes in the players that he likes and he believes heavily in his system. That’s fine and it’s produced some decent results for England, but once teams figure out that system he needs to be able to change it on the fly. England have plenty of talent, it just needs to be put to good use.

At the end of the day though, a draw is not the worst thing in this situation. England remain top Group B on 4 points, while the Americans are 3rd with 2. England are still in a good position to get out of the group, but they are far from guaranteed to be group winners. They will need to beat Wales outright in order to win the group. If they draw or lose, then all three of the other teams could find their way to the next round.

The Americans can take a fair amount of pride in this result, but it’s clear they lack a finisher. They frustrated England very effectively today, but I questioned the tactic of trying to beat England in the air when it came to their own attacking play. It was clear that Maguire was dominating the area in the air, and he struggles at times with smaller and quicker attackers. Americans would be fair in asking why Gio Reyna was not brought on until late. but they need a victory over Iran to progress. Another draw won’t be enough.

Group B Matchday 1 – Americans Held by Wales, England Steamroll Iran

First things first – FIFA and the government of Qatar are absolutely horrendous entities. This tournament should not have been held in this country.

USA vs. Wales

Let’s start with this one since most of my readers are Americans. Classic game of two halves here. The Americans came out with tenacity and a high work-rate in the first half, and Wales really struggled to get a foot in the game. The Americans’ ability to press high up the pitch was causing Wales all kinds of problems. Even when they were on the ball, they couldn’t find space to hit long passes. The work rate and passing of Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah were particularly impressive. It seemed that the Welsh were tactically okay with letting the Americans have the ball while trying to hit the Americans on the counter-attack via speedy wingers Daniel James and Gareth Bale.

That tactical plan did not really work in the first half though, and the Americans cashed in on a golden opportunity on 36 minutes courtesy of winger Tim Weah (son of former Balon d’Or winner current President of Liberia, George Weah). Some neat passing in midfield led to Christian Pulisic being allowed to run towards the Welsh goal unchallenged, and Weah made an excellent diagonal run in behind the back-4. Pulisic spotted his run and played an excellent ball to him, and Weah then used the angle created by his run to re-direct the ball home past keeper Wayne Hennessey. It was nothing less than the Americans deserved for their tenacity, possession, and work-rate. Wales limped into half time after that, but they managed to keep the Americans from adding another.

Wales manager Rob Page brought on striker Kieffer Moore at half time, and his impact was felt almost immediately. In the first 45 minutes, Wales had no outlet. They had no one up front who could hold onto the ball and/or win fouls while supporting players ran up the pitch. Moore changed all that. His big frame was very useful for Wales, and all of a sudden they had a lot more possession in their attacking third. Moore had a header go over USA keeper Matt Turner’s crossbar around 66 minutes that he really should have better with. But as with the Americans in the first half, you sensed a goal was coming.

And indeed, the Welsh got their vital equalizer on 83 minutes from the penalty spot. While this referee can be rightly criticized for some of his decisions in this match, the penalty decision was spot-on. USMNT defender Tim Ream was marking Bale in the box when he elected to go through the back of Bale in an effort to win the ball. He did make some contact with the ball, but it is generally a very bad idea to go through the back of an attacking player in your box with a 1-0 lead. His knee came into contact with Bale and Bale went down like he’d been shot, as is to be expected at this level of the game. The referee pointed to the spot, and Bale stepped up to dispatch the penalty with power into the right hand corner. Turner did go the right way to make the save, but there was just too much power and height on the ball to keep it out. 1-1, and the first goal scored by a Welshman at the World Cup in 64 years!

As stoppage time approached, the already-physical game became even tougher, with challenges flying in from both sides. Neither team was really able to fashion a good chance. Substitute Wales winger Brennan Johnson tested Turner with a shot from a tight angle, but that was about it. The match ended 1-1, which was probably a fair result given how it played out. The Yanks were better in the first half, the Welsh better in the second. USA supporters will be disappointed with how the match ended, and the Welsh will be disappointed with how it began. Both teams will need to play better to make a deep run at this tournament.

If I’m a USA supporter, I am very concerned about the health and fitness of McKennie. He was the best player on the pitch in the opening 45 minutes, and the game really changed when he went off. I am also concerned about the 2nd half response by USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter, or perhaps the lack thereof. For some mysterious reason (and this may have partly been due to McKennie coming off), the Americans stopped attacking the Welsh through the middle of the pitch. They instead elected to get the ball wide and try and find headers from aerial crosses, but that seemed to be futile against a much taller Welsh back line. The Yanks are at their best when the ball is at Pulisic’s feet and he’s allowed to run at defenses, as made obvious by their goal today. They will need to re-establish that strategy going forward.

England vs. Iran

England were expected to win this match given the gulf in talent between the two sides, but very few expected a 6-2 result. Iran were ranked 20th in the world coming into this match, the highest-ranked Asian side at the tournament. They usually cause problems for more-talented opposition and only lose by the odd goal here and there, if they lose at all.

England were the dominant team throughout the match, but it must be noted that it took England 35 minutes to breach the Iranian goal. It was only then that a fine cross from left back Luke Shaw found midfielder Jude Bellingham’s head in the box, and he powered a thunderous header beyond substitute keeper Hossein Hosseini. Once the first one went in, the floodgates opened. Wingers Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling added their names to the scoresheet next, and it was 3-0 at halftime to England. Saka got another goal on 62 minutes as well, and England were well on their way to three points and the top of the group.

The Iranians did not stop trying however, and they were rewarded with a goal on 65 minutes from the talented Mehdi Taremi. England failed to clear a long throw-in from Iran, and when the ball was played to Taremi he smartly powered home the ball into the roof of the net. England keeper Jordan Pickford could do little about it. It was never anything more than a consolation goal, though.

England continued to attack, with striker Harry Kane finding substitute winger Marcus Rashford, who cut inside from the right wing and slotted home under Hosseini for England’s fifth. Rashford had only been on the pitch for 49 seconds when his shot found the back of the net, so he made sure his impact was felt. The action dulled a bit after that, but England were awarded a 6th goal on 90 minutes after striker Callum Wilson found midfielder Jack Grealish unmarked in the box. Grealish swept home the pass and England were essentially home and dry.

The referee had to have his say, however. First, he missed an obvious foul on center back Harry Maguire in the first half that would have given England a penalty. Secondly, he awarded a monumental 13 minutes of stoppage time today. That is well above the average, but I suppose it is acceptable given the long injury delays in the first and second half. He awarded a penalty to Iran very late on, and while it did not affect the outcome of the match, it was a good example of inconsistent application of the rules. If the penalty late on for a shirt pull was a penalty, then so was the shirt pull on Maguire in the first half. Again, it matters not for today, but in a closer match it could matter quite a bit.

England were by far the better side and deserved to win this match. For a team that has struggled to score goals recently, scoring six in the opening match of a World Cup is fantastic. Some questions remain defensively, but the ruthless finishing today more than made up for it. Credit to the Iranians for never stopping, even though it would have been understandable if they did.

Even more credit to the Iranians however for not singing along with their national anthem before the match. This was done on purpose in protest against their current governmental regime and its treatment of women within Iran. A very ballsy move indeed, and it’s significantly braver than any form of “protest” against Qatar planned by European nations. Iran is playing for something bigger than just their team, and I wish them nothing but the best of luck in this group.

All four teams resume play on Friday, November 25th. USA vs. England and Wales vs. Iran. England are in the driver’s seat after today, but nothing has been decided yet. Four massive matches tomorrow, including Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia, Mexico vs. Poland, Denmark vs. Tunisia, and France vs. Australia.

Final Matches for England Before World Cup 2022

England took on Italy last Friday and Germany today in the UEFA Nations League, a tournament of pseudo-friendlies that serve no real purpose other than making money for UEFA and perhaps being tune-up games before major tournaments. England manager Gareth Southgate was primarily concerned with the latter, as the Three Lions have no more matches between now and the kickoff of their match against Iran at the World Cup in Qatar on November 21.

The match against Italy was terrible. There’s no point in going over it in detail because it was incredibly tepid from an England point of view and they frankly looked disinterested in the result. It was a 1-0 loss at Wembley that had the whole punditry industry and every person with access to a keyboard calling for Southgate’s sacking and replacing before the tournament begins. I was by no means impressed either, but I have to question how much that match actually mattered to the players in the grand scheme of things. Italy won’t be at the World Cup (haha) and none of the teams in our group play a style similar to them. Yes, England should have played better, but the motivation for the players will be much higher at a match that actually matters.

The match against Germany today at Wembley was much improved, and it will give the players something to build on going into the World Cup. The aforementioned uproar from television and pundits and social media was heard by the players, and they played with a lot more purpose and pride than they did in the Italy match. Indeed, Ze Germans were lucky not to be down one or two goals at halftime. Raheem Sterling in particular was guilty of a bad miss despite otherwise playing well. 0-0 at halftime, but it was much better from an attacking perspective.

The second half of today’s match was insanity. England went down 1-0 via a penalty conceded by the ever-controversial Harry Maguire, and then he gave the ball away again which ultimately led to a second German goal. I almost turned the match off, down 2-0 to the Germans with 2/3 of the match gone. But all credit to the lads for fighting back today, and when I say “the lads” I primarily mean Jude Bellingham. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder was England’s best player on the pitch today, and if he is not starting in every match come November then Southgate deserves the sack for negligence. He has confidence, power, speed, dribbling, passing – everything you want out of a central midfielder. He simply refuses to stop trying, and contributed heavily to the first England goal from Luke Shaw. The goal lifted the lads, and Mason Mount got the equalizer just four minutes later with a very impressive strike that left German keeper Ter Stegen dumbfounded. Bellingham was also involved in the third England goal, winning the penalty that striker Harry Kane superbly converted to give England a 3-2 lead.

Although backup keeper Nick Pope fumbled a cross that Germany’s Kai Havertz was able to bundle in for a German equalizer late on, the three goals in 11 minutes of play showed what England are capable of when given the liberty to do so. Southgate made some good substitutions today and he needs credit for that, but he deserves more than his fair share of scrutiny for the his routinely conservative approach in previous matches and his focus on defending. Put simply, England are much better in attack than they are in defense, at least right now. We can score goals against any opposition in the world, and I am confident of that. So why isn’t Southgate playing to his strengths? Why does he insist on shackling players like Kane, Sterling, Bukayo Saka, and Phil Foden with defensive duties when not on the ball? We need to get those lads on the ball and get them running at the opposition. As I have said many times before, I’m sick of losing 1-0 or 2-1 to teams with effective tactical plans. I do think we have enough juice to win the group, but beyond that I worry about how far England will go playing Southgate-ball.

If the Three Lions can cut down on individual mistakes (Maguire, Pope) and lean into their attacking talent, they have a chance to do well at this tournament. If we insist on playing conservatively though, I fear we won’t go very far. The question of who all goes to Qatar is also up for debate, and I’m sure the next two months of club play will have an influence on Southgate’s final squad. I’d say there’s probably 8-10 players that are guaranteed to go, but the competition remains open for the other 10-15 spots. I think Jordan Pickford will be the No. 1 keeper after Pope’s error today, and I’d like to see center back Fikayo Tomori play in at least one group game as an alternative to Maguire.

Three Lions on the Shirts!

England Hold Ze Germans to a Draw in Munich

The series of glorified friendlies known as the UEFA Nations League continued today, with the Three Lions in hostile territory against a German side that might have been looking for a bit of revenge after England eliminated them from the European Championships last summer. Neither side was really playing at full strength and this match comes at the end of a long and grueling season for players from both nations, so as is usually the case it’s hard to take away much from a match like this one.

Germany were the better side in the first half though, and comfortably. They had two goals ruled out (correctly) for offside, but England’s defense was opened up rather easily several times. England were holding on for dear life at times in the first half, and were lucky to not be down 2-0 or worse. There was just no creativity in attack and no one looked like they had any idea what to do. That pattern is becoming a worrying trend under manager Gareth Southgate.

England were indeed pegged back on 51 minutes thanks to a deflected strike from midfielder Jonas Hoffman. England keeper Jordan Pickford managed to get a hand to the shot and probably should have done better to keep it out, the lion’s share of the blame for the goal has to be put on center-back Harry Maguire. He was drawn out of position when he tried to intercept the ball, and it was simple for the German attacking players to pass the ball to Hoffman who was largely on his own in the box. Maguire usually plays well for England, but it seems his poor club form has finally spilled over to the national side. I still believe he is a top center-back, but he needs to step away from the game (and social media) for about a month or so. He needs to get his head right and fix the mental side of his game desperately.

But credit where credit is due – England grew into the game after that. Substitutes Jude Bellingham and Jack Grealish were magnificent as the half progressed. All of a sudden, England had options going forward. Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling, the attacking starters in this match, didn’t really have it today. I think Saka was tired from being played so much this season and Sterling picked up a slight injury early in the game. Both were limited in attack as a result. The final 20-25 minutes or so were good from England in the sense that there was a belief about them. England teams of old would have effectively rolled over and surrendered in a match like this one, but these lads kept pushing and they should be commended for it.

They were rewarded for their efforts in the final 10 minutes when striker Harry Kane was brought down in the box by a German defender. The contact in the box was clear, but VAR was consulted to ensure that Kane was onside before he made his run into the box. Candidly, the decision was marginal but it was upheld in the end. Kane stepped up to the spot and buried a low and powerful shot into the bottom left corner, with German keeper Manuel Neuer sent the wrong way. England were level, and moreover they were good value for their goal. Yes there was a little bit of luck on the penalty decision, but often in football and in life you have to create your own luck to an extent. You have to be in a position to get lucky, and that is exactly what happened today. Congratulations to Kane on his 50th England goal, now only three behind Wayne Rooney’s all-time England record.

Again, it’s hard to take away any future lessons from this match, but I don’t think anyone can complain about a 1-1 given how dominant Ze Germans were in the first half. What is abundantly clear is that the conservative approach from Southgate has to go. He seems to think England’s best defense is passive possession, but many are of the opinion that England are at their best when in attack mode. It’s no mystery why we got better once Bellingham and Grealish came on. Those two players offer talent in attack, while the players they replaced do not. Mason Mount had a below-average season at Chelsea and Kalvin Phillips was injured most of the year for Leeds United, so it’s curious why they even started in the first place. Southgate should get credit for bringing them on, but he also deserves criticism for not having them on from the get-go. Playing conservative cost us against Croatia in 2018 and against Italy last summer, and I think this style of play will ultimately be Southgate’s undoing if England don’t win a trophy soon. Personally, I’d rather lose while really going for it than lose via passive possession.

Speaking of, England fans need to stop being knobheads when they travel abroad. Seven England supporters were arrested by German authorities earlier in the day, and the charges are all related to drunken debauchery. These are the reasons why no one likes England supporters. We show up, drink all the beer, break stuff, and leave. I have no problem with passionate support for a team, but to act like entitled dickheads and to not respect the host nation reeks of arrogance.

England still sit bottom of Group 3 on one point, but a loss today would have really set us back. Still all to play for in the very early stages of this “tournament”. Rematch with Italy on Saturday!

England Cruise to Victory Over Ivory Coast – International Friendly

England played their second of two international friendlies during this break earlier today when they hosted Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) at Wembley. England don’t usually play many African sides, but today they faced a side full of players with Premier League/European top flight experience. Serge Aurier, Eric Bailly (from Manchester United!), Nicolas Pepé, Franck Kessié, and Sebastién Haller are all incredibly talented and play important roles at their clubs. I like seeing unusual match-ups because it’s a good idea to play teams from all around the globe, so England can see different tactical approaches to the game and be ready for anything during a tournament. The Ivorians are ranked much lower in the FIFA world rankings than previous opponent Switzerland, but this could easily be a difficult test for the Three Lions. Manager Gareth Southgate made an array of changes to his starting XI from the Switzerland match, including benching Harry Kane and starting Raheem Sterling, Jude Bellingham, and striker Ollie Watkins. As has been said before on this blog, the name of the game in friendly matches is to figure out all the different ways you can potentially win a match, and what players deserve a shot in the final World Cup squad.

Thankfully, England abandoned the back-3 in defense that did not really work against the Swiss in favor of a traditional back-4. And from the start, England were all over the Ivorians. They were pressing well, forcing the opposition into errors, winning free kicks in dangerous areas, and creating chances to score. Sterling looked particularly lively in his familiar second-striker/attacking midfielder role, and he seemed to be the catalyst behind all attacking play. Bellingham was also in fine form playing on the right side of a midfield-3. His intelligence and creativity both on and off the ball are amazing to watch. He was unfortunate to see a shot deflected onto the post when it seemed almost certain he was going to score after a very clever run into the box. Winger/midfielder Jack Grealish also went close with a low shot at the near post that was barely held onto by Ivorian keeper Ibrahim Sangaré.

England did get the opener however on 30 minutes, thanks again to the creativity of Sterling. A loose forward pass from Grealish was recovered by Sterling in the left channel, after which he dribbled it into the box with the Ivorian defender giving him far too much space to operate in. He spotted Watkins making a run to the back post, and he played a rather simple cross along the ground that none of the defenders or keeper decided to clear. Watkins had a tap-in from 2 yards out and it was 1-0 England. A simple goal in the end thanks to poor defending, but credit to Sterling for his persistence and creativity and a congratulations to Watkins on opening his England scoring account. England deserved the goal for their dominance in the first 20-25 minutes.

Surprisingly, the Ivorians were down to 10 men on 40 minutes after right back Aurier was shown a second yellow card and given a subsequent red. He had been booked on 32 minutes for a pull on the shorts of Grealish, but his second one came after he visibly disagreed with a non-call from the referee. Once play had stopped, the ref came back to him and showed him a second yellow for dissent. You don’t see many sending-offs in friendlies and it’s perhaps a tad harsh on Aurier, but Tottenham supporters will tell you that a red card in a match is not a huge surprise for Serge Aurier. As a professional though, he has to know that he can’t go mouthing off to the ref once he’s already been booked. He’s asking for trouble there, and he got it. The West Africans were then required to play with only 10 men for the final 50 minutes or so.

And England cashed in on that advantage right on the stroke of halftime with a very pleasing to watch team goal. Center back Harry Maguire played a long pass forward to Watkins, who’s quick and deft touch-pass found Sterling on a run just off to his right. Sterling then carried the ball to just inside the box before firing off a high and powerful shot with his left foot, but it was blocked away by Sangaré. The rebound however fell straight to Grealish on the left side of the goal, and he simply played it back to Sterling low and along the ground. Sterling stuck out his right foot and deflected the ball into the back of the net. Good vision from Maguire, excellent touch and pass from Watkins, and some unselfish play from Grealish to go right back to Sterling. At 2-0 in a friendly with the opposition down to 10, the second half felt more like a formality than a requirement.

And as is often the case in friendlies, the pace of the game slowed down significantly in the second half. Ivory Coast were determined to keep the score at 2-0, as they came out in a very defensive shape and spent most of their time trying to clog up the middle of the pitch. England still had a few good chances to get a third, but it seemed like it wouldn’t quite come off for them. Southgate made the majority of his changes on 60 minutes, swapping out four players including Watkins for Kane. I’m sure Kane was chomping at the bit to get on the pitch, given that the opposition looked a little suspect at the back and they were down to 10. It was a golden opportunity for him to reach 50 England goals. Again though, England could not find a way through and it seemed destined to end 2-0.

All formalities were concluded when England did manage to get a third goal, late into stoppage time via center back Tyrone Mings. England had a corner on 92 minutes, and the ball was played into the box high up by substitute Phil Foden. Mings jumped highest to reach it, although the ball seemed to come off the front of his face more than the usual crown of the head. In any event, the ball went down into the ground and bounced into the goal with Sangaré unable to get near it. The whistle went shortly after that, and England were 3-0 winners.

So takeaways then? Well, Bellingham needs to be a starter for England if he continues playing like he is. He was easily Man of the Match today. The Ivorians had no answer for his runs into the box or his ability to find the right pass in the right situation. He has all of the natural talent in the world and the footballing brain to match it. But does his creative and attacking style of play have a routine place in Southgate’s conservative approach? That remains to be seen. Southgate likes to play Mason Mount or Foden in Bellingham’s place usually. No denying the talent of those players, but against a tough defensive side in a closely contested tournament match, Bellingham’s abilities could be the deciding factor. He’s only going to get better, too. I say he needs to start at the World Cup if he stays in this kind of form. Sterling and Grealish were phenomenal today as well, although their places in the squad are fairly solidified. Perhaps Watkins, Mings, and left back Tyrick Mitchell had the best days though, as they all laid down fairly significant markers to be included for World Cup 2022. It will be difficult for Watkins to unseat Kane as the starting center-forward, but having him on the bench would be a welcome addition.

Oh, and one more thing, England fans need to stop booing Maguire. He was booed during his first touches today and that is disgusting. It’s true he hasn’t had the best season at United and he isn’t the most popular player off the pitch, but he always plays well in an England shirt. Moreover, booing him will not help him improve. Players low on confidence do not need their confidence lowered any further by idiot supporters. I am happy Southgate has condemned the fans’ behavior in this regard.

England will have tougher tests than this though before the World Cup gets underway in December. The UEFA Nations League matches this summer against Germany and Italy will be much tougher tests for England. At this stage of things though, you have to feel that England are among the favorites to do very well next winter. I will at some point do a post about this upcoming World Cup and some of the controversies involved with it.

Manchester United and the Premier League return to action next Saturday, with the Red Devils hosting Leicester City.

England Demolish Albania, Move to Within Touching Distance of the World Cup

The international break is on for the clubs across Europe, which means that not only are England back in action, I get to take a break from writing about the very negative atmosphere in the red portion of Manchester right now.

England played their last home match of their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign yesterday afternoon at Wembley, taking on Albania. Albania came into this match 3rd in Group I, while England were sitting firmly atop. Albania needed three points to keep any hope of making the playoff alive, while England knew that a win could potentially qualify them. That would only happen if Poland lost to Andorra though, which was a very unlikely thing to happen.

In contrast to previous matches where England got off to a slow and/or laboring start, England were at full throttle almost from the get-go. It’s very difficult to get all 11 players up and going right away usually, so to see such a fast start was welcome. England, in a resplendent blue kit, were positively flying around and passing the ball extremely well, and they were rewarded with the opening goal on just 9 minutes via a set-piece. England won a foul on the edge of the area and the free kick was taken by Chelsea right-back (today playing as a right-wingback) Reece James. He played a sublime diagonal ball over the top of the Albanian defense, where Manchester United center back (and captain) Harry Maguire met the ball with his head. He drove the ball back across the goal and into the net with Albanian keeper Thomas Strakosha beaten. He wheeled away in a celebration that perhaps indicated he was trying to silence the critics of his recent play at United. It’s true he’s had some shockers recently, but I think a goal for England is going to be good for his confidence. Maguire seems to be a confidence-driven player, and if he can start believing in himself a bit again it will be good for country and club.

It should be noted that England and Everton keeper Jordan Pickford was forced into a fine save just after the England opener, after Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker played a very poor back pass straight into the path of an Albanian striker. It ended up being a fairly tame effort on goal, but it could have easily been 1-1. However, it probably would not have mattered in the end given the eventual England onslaught.

It was only the beginning of a dream day for England and a nightmare for Albania. About 9 minutes later, England got their second via a wonderfully-worked goal down the right hand flank. James and Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson played a lovely 1-2 around the Albanian defenders, with Henderson finding himself on the ball on the right side of the box near the end line. He spotted talismanic Tottenham striker Harry Kane in the middle largely unmarked, and played a delightful chipped cross to him. Kane rose highest to the ball and nodded it deftly past Strakosha for 2-0. A good goal, but Albania were completely lost defensively. The marking was so bad that England and Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell would have also easily finished the cross had Kane not been in front of him. But a world-class striker like Kane does not miss from point-blank range. You expect a player like Kane to get into that position. Credit again though to James and Henderson for some very good build-up play.

The Three Lions smelled blood at that point and continued to pour on the pressure. It was Henderson’s turn to get on the score sheet, remarkably for only the second time in his England career. James was involved in the buildup again, with him winning a second ball from a poor Albanian defensive header in a dangerous area. He then played a short pass to Manchester City winger/forward Phil Foden, who then found Henderson about 20 yards from the box. Henderson played a sharp pass into Kane, and Kane controlled the ball beautifully. He played the ball with his heel back into the path of the onrushing Henderson, who took a very deft touch around an Albanian defender before pinging his shot into the bottom far corner of the goal. Henderson is normally a defensive midfielder, but England were dominating so well through the middle he was able to come forward and get involved with two goals. The floodgates were beginning to well and truly open and the only question was how many more England would get.

Then it was Kane time. He decided he wanted to score some more instead of providing assists. Albania gave the ball away very cheaply in midfield, and Manchester City winger/forward Raheem Sterling was allowed to run a good distance towards the goal. Kane was in front of him just off to his left. Sterling played an excellent through ball to Kane, who was being played onside by a defender fairly far away from him. He took a few touches into the left side of the box, before lashing a screamer into the far side-netting. Strakosha could do nothing about it. At 4-0 it was now over, just 33 minutes into the match.

Just for good measure, Kane secured England’s fifth and a first half hat-trick for himself a minute into stoppage time. England won a corner that was played into the box by Foden, and once again Kane was there to finish in spectacular fashion. He hit the ball on the volley with a scissor-kick, and Strakosha had no chance of keeping out a shot with such velocity on it. He saved his best finish on the day for last – falling away from the ball but still getting excellent contact with his right boot. Yes the marking was again by poor by Albania, but you can’t take anything away from Kane’s finish. It was 5-0 at halftime and if Albaia manager Edoardo Reja could have thrown in the proverbial towel, he would have.

The second half was dull in comparison, with England somewhat understandably in cruise control and not really trying all that hard to go and get another one. Albania had one or two shots on Pickford’s goal from long distance, but he was never really troubled. No more goals were scored, probably due to the substitutions, injuries, and fouls that created a very stuttered flow to the match. One notable moment was the debut of Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, a very promising young talent that has had a great season so far for the Gunners in the middle of the park. Again, nothing much of note happened for him, but it’s always good for a young player to get time in a competitive match.

Speaking of, Kane is now England’s all time leading goal scorer in competitive football matches, overtaking Wayne Rooney. He still has not eclipsed Rooney’s overall goal scoring record for England (53), but it is almost inevitable now that he will. With his hat-trick today he is now tied with the legendary Jimmy Greaves on 44 goals. He only needs 9 to tie Rooney and 10 to overtake him, and that could happen at next winter’s World Cup in 2022. England have never had a dominant center forward such as Kane, and we have never had a man score so many important goals for us.

Southgate of course will be happy with this display, and he will be even happier that it happened without the services of players such as Declan Rice, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho. It’s again a testament to England’s strength in depth that we can put 5 goals past half-decent opposition without several extremely good players. I suppose as long as Kane is out there, that’s all we really need. When he is in the mood, I don’t think he can be stopped. Southgate promised that England would put on a show in his pre-match interviews, and his team very much delivered on that. A 6th goal in the second half would have been a nice ribbon on the gift, but not getting one is hardly grounds for complaint.

As expected, Poland did end up beating Andorra 4-1. That means England have a 3 point lead over Poland with one match left in qualifying, and therefore they only need a draw against bottom-dwellers San Marino to secure passage to World Cup 2022 as the winners of Group I. That match will happen on Monday at the Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle in San Marino. All I will say is that if we can put 5 past Albania, we should be putting 10 past San Marino. They are the lowest ranked country in FIFA’s world rankings, at 210th out of 210. They have a goal differential of -35 and have not registered a single point in 9 qualifying matches. To say that they are underdogs would be the understatement of the year. All England need is a point against the minnowest of minnows, but it would be embarrassing even to win by a small margin. Barring the miracle of all miracles, England should qualify for World Cup 2022 on Monday.

Three Lions on the shirts!

England Draw With Hungary, Match Marred by Fan Violence

England took on Hungary today at Wembley Stadium in London, in what was the 8th match out of 10 in World Cup 2022 qualification. England had already beaten Hungary 4-0 away in Budapest earlier this year, but they’re a more talented side than they appear at first and have gotten some famous results earlier this season.

The match ended 1-1, with both goals coming in the first half. Hungary took a surprising lead from the penalty spot via forward Rolland Sallai, who sent England keeper Jordan Pickford the wrong way as he slotted home. The actual penalty was earned by right back Loïc Négo, who collided with a high boot from England left back Luke Shaw just inside the box. The contact on Négo’s head was minimal, but the problem was Shaw having his boot that high up in the first place. It’s a long-established rule in football that your foot can’t be up high near the head and neck of other players, and Shaw has to know better there. He is asking for trouble with his foot that high up, and he wouldn’t have even needed to fly in like that if he was quicker to the ball. But he was lackadaisical in getting over to the bouncing loose ball, and Négo put him under pressure to make a clearance. Unfortunately, he did not clear the ball effectively.

England did get an equalizer 13 minutes later, having put their foot fully down on the gas pedal after the Hungary goal. The tying goal was courtesy of three Manchester City players – Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, and John Stones. Grealish was probably England’s best attacking player the whole match, and he won a foul in the right channel after some of his trademark nifty dribbling. Foden stood over the dead ball and delivered a very dangerous diagonal cross into the box. It was met at the far post by Stones, who simply stuck his foot out and the ball bounced off him and into the net. Wembley erupted in celebration, and it was great to see England scoring from a set piece.

The Three Lions had the better of the chances and the majority of the possession for the rest of the half and indeed the rest of the game, but they could not put the ball past Hungarian keeper Péter Gulácsi. He made several fine saves on Raheem Sterling, but overall the credit must go to Hungary manager Marco Rossi for his tactical set-up. They were in a 5-3-2 and set up very compact, making it hard to break them down. They also pressed England at precisely the right times, and England admittedly lacked ideas in terms of creating chances. I applaud Gareth Southgate for realizing that his initial tactical set-up was wrong and actually making substitutions, but today the problem was that he made the wrong substitution. Bringing on Bukayo Saka for Grealish was mystifying when both Sterling and Harry Kane were far more ineffective. Saka needed to come on, but not for Grealish. He was the only one really running at the Hungary back line, so to take him off almost did them a favor. It was just an overall disappointing performance on the pitch, but credit to the Hungarians for playing well and forcing England to stumble slightly on their path to World Cup 2022.

England are still atop Group I, but their lead has narrowed to 3 points after Poland’s victory over Albania. England have a massive game against Albania in a month, and the last one is against minnows San Marino. Win either of those, England are virtually in. Ideally they would take 3 points in both games, and they will indeed need to be better than they were today against a highly-motivated Albanian team.

******

Unfortunately, the first 10-15 minutes of this match were marred by clashes between the London Metropolitan Police and some of the Hungarian supporters inside the stadium. I normally am not one to defend the police, but there is a section of the Hungarian supporters that are absolute knobheads. They held up a banner protesting the England players kneeling before the opening whistle, and were jeering loudly when one of England’s Black players touched the ball. Absolute racist bastards and the images of them throwing punches at the police were disgusting to watch. It seems the police eventually got the situation under control and at least one arrest was made, but I couldn’t believe just how brazen the actions were of those few dozen supporters. I know for a fact that not all Hungarians are racist hooligans, but that loud minority of them is very loud indeed.

Which begs the question: where is UEFA on this? Why has the Hungarian FA even been allotted tickets for their supporters at this match? There is supposed to be a ban on fan attendance at their home matches for this exact sort of behavior the last time England played Hungary, so why are they allowed in our stadium? It’s this sort of thing that makes the whole “Say No to Racism” campaign feel hollow and frankly fake. When actual racist incidents happen, UEFA does nothing about them and leaves it up to the local authorities to sort out the shitheads. Hey UEFA, fucking punish this kind of conduct! Lifetime bans for fans who engage in racist conduct. Points deductions from teams if fans engage in racist conduct. I understand that England is not free from sin in this department, so these rules would apply to our fans as well. The fans also must self-police more effectively and call out racist conduct when they see it! I’m fed up with this behavior and it needs to stop.

England Demolish Andorra, One Step Closer to WC 2022

England travelled to Andorra la Vella, Andorra yesterday for the first match of two in this international break. England were heavy favorites going in, and frankly it would have taken divine intervention for Andorra to get anything out of this. Going off the previous result, it’s abundantly clear that England’s players are bigger, stronger, and faster than the Andorrans. It’s really that simple, in this situation. Andorra would have to defend like their lives depended on it to get anything out of this match. It was interesting to see Andorra’s new national stadium, Estadio Nacional. To give you some perspective on how tiny Andorra is, the capacity for their national stadium is only about 3,000. Even more stunning is the fact that the population of Andorra is about 77,000 when the capacity of Wembley in London is 90,000. You could fit the entire population of Andorra inside Wembley Stadium if you needed to, with room to spare.

Things got off to a slow start for England but they were dominant in possession at least from the get-go. A lot of the normal first-choice players were not in the side. Frankly, you don’t need a Harry Kane or Raheem Sterling to win a match like this. Well, you shouldn’t at least. England had deployed forward/winger Phil Foden in holding midfield, a decision from manager Gareth Southgate I initially questioned as that is not his natural position. However, it was the correct decision as Foden was under instruction to use his range of passing to play balls in behind the Andorra defense on the left side. He consistently found free runners in the box and it was the key to the breakthrough goal on 18 minutes. Foden found Jadon Sancho in space in the box, having made a cleverly-timed run into the box. Sancho had his back to goal when he received it, but it played it to Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell who casually slotted home for his first England goal. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but after a VAR review it was determined that Sancho was level when he made his initial run into the box.

Despite scoring, Andorra failed to address the issue of Foden playing long diagonal passes into the box. I am not sure what they could have done to address it, but they simply could not handle Foden’s passing. Utterly devastating to them. England’s second goal on 40 minutes was also set-up by Foden, who played a straighter pass this time to Arsenal winger/forward Bukayo Saka in the box. The first touch was excellent from Saka and he blasted the ball into the roof of the net past Andorra keeper Josep Gomes with his second touch. Despite still being in the first half, this match was already close to over. It was only a question of how many England would win by. Andorra offered nothing to test deputy England keeper Sam Johnstone.

While the half ended without any further goals, the yellow cards piling up for England were somewhat concerning. I questioned the legitimacy of some of them, but there was no need for England to fly into tackles recklessly. I like being competitive and I like playing with desire no matter the opponent, but those two traits can’t get in the way of common sense. I normally slag off the referee when they don’t do well, but I think the all-female referee crew led by Kateryna Monzul did fairly well in the match. I only mention her gender because she was the first woman ever to referee an England match. Well done to her and her crew, one or two decisions notwithstanding.

England’s dominance continued in the second half with goal no. 3 coming on 58 minutes. Tammy Abraham was tasked with leading the forward line in this match, and it could be said he was somewhat wasteful in the first half, having scuffed a good chance off the post. But he made no mistake with this chance. Sancho found himself on the ball in the left channel, with only one man marking him. The marker gave him too much space, so he hit a cross into the box aimed generally at Abraham. Abraham made a nifty little run that left his marker in the dust, after which he got just enough of a touch on the ball to guide it into the net. Abraham has found a resurgence of form under Jose Mourinho at Roma, and it was nice to see him get on the scoresheet today. He probably will not be unseating Kane as the starting forward any time soon, but strength in depth is key for any side.

The Andorrans became more feisty after that, and really they were lucky to escape the match with all 11 players still on the pitch. England got their fourth due to this lack of discipline. Substitute forward Jack Grealish was brought down in the box, and Monzul decisively awarded a penalty. No question about it, despite a brief VAR review. Kane was not on the pitch, so Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse stepped up to take it. His initial shot was too close to Gomes and he produced a fine save, but Ward-Prowse was quickest to the rebound and he blasted it home from close range.

Andorra’s misery was further compounded about 10 minutes later. Johnstone collected a wary cross into his own area, after which he spotted Grealish streaking toward the opposite goal near the half-way line. Johnstone then produced an NFL quarterback-like throw directly into the path of Grealish, who carried the ball through the Andorra half. His dribbling prowess was on full display as he rode challenges all the way. He eventually got close enough and slotted the ball into the goal low and away to the keeper’s right. Andorra should have done better to get a tackle in, but you could see the fatigue in their legs and Grealish is simply just too good on the ball.

There were several points in this match where I almost felt sorry for Andorra. The gulf in class is just absolutely massive and it’s borderline unfair to them. I still think that how qualification is handled regarding these smaller countries needs to be re-evaluated by UEFA. If you want one of these smaller countries to have a shot at qualifying, they need to play in their own group. Feeding minnows like Andorra and San Marino to the likes of England and Poland is tantamount to lambs at the abattoir.

You could make a case for Sancho or Grealish being Man of the Match, but realistically it was Phil Foden. He was unstoppable in midfield all day and will give Southgate food for thought in future matches. England finished the match 5-0, and are now 4 points clear of second-place Albania in Group I. England have scored more goals in this WC qualifying campaign than the previous one, and we still have 3 matches left to play. All attention now turns to Hungary on Tuesday at Wembley. I expect more of the usual starters to play, as three points against the Hungarians all-but-qualifies England for 2022. If we win, then at worst we would have a four point lead with only 6 available points remaining.

Three Lions on the Shirts!

Three Lions Labor to a Draw In Warsaw

England wrapped up the current international break with a trip to Warsaw where they took on Poland in the 6th match of the World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign. England had maintained a 100% win record thus far in the campaign but the Three Lions knew they would be facing probably their toughest test so far.

Poland are very tough to play at home, plain and simple. Their fans always provide an intimidating and raucous atmosphere, and they are led by a talismanic striker who was probably the Ballon d’Or winner last season (had FIFA awarded one), Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern Munich man is their principal goal threat, and if England were to win they would need to neutralize him. It is fair to focus much of the defensive effort on one man in this case because, truthfully, Poland do not have much attacking quality outside of him. England had already beaten Poland 2-1 at Wembley earlier this summer, but Lewandowski did not play in that match due to injury.

The first half followed a familiar pattern for England these past few matches – tidy, but slow. We can pass the ball around nicely among the back four and even into midfield, but we seem to slow the ball down too much when we get into attacking areas. They looked unwilling to take chances, and I don’t know if that’s because of instructions from manager Gareth Southgate or because Poland simply weren’t giving them anything. Whenever England got on the ball they were quick to get back and defend, and it seemed that players like Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish were unwilling to try and dribble directly at defenders. Both Sterling and Grealish are excellent dribblers and they need to be running at their markers more directly. England were not helped by several very questionable officiating decisions from referee Daniel Siebert. He was trying to let both sides play a bit which might be ok to a degree, but that is a dangerous prospect when it comes to the shithousers on the Polish national team.

Speaking of shithousery, at halftime it was a rather tepid 0-0 but the action really kicked off after the whistle had gone for the end of the half. There was some sort of scuffle between Polish center back Kamil Glik and England center back Harry Maguire that led to all 22 players plus some off the bench getting into a shoving match near the touchline. Cooler heads eventually prevailed and the incident resulted in bookings for both Glik and Maguire. It was tough to see how the altercation started from the broadcast, but you have to believe that Glik grabbing onto/pinching the face of England right back Kyle Walker a few minutes previous was part of the issue. Glik had been antagonizing several England players throughout the half and probably should have been booked previous to that. Again, letting the players play is generally applaudable, but there has to be a line drawn somewhere. Siebert almost let this match get out of control and he largely failed to stamp his authority down.

In the second half England were better but still struggled to create any real clear-cut chances. Poland had made some substitutions and seemed to have plenty of energy to defend and hold on for 0-0. But as he has done so often and consistently for England, Harry Kane arrived. He had been rather quiet in this match but he reminded everyone of what he can do on 72 minutes when he received the ball from Walker about 45 yards out from goal. He realized there was no pressure on him so he dribbled the ball about 10 yards before lashing the ball with his toe toward the Polish goal. It appeared to be going straight at Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny at first, but then the ball began a vicious dip to the right that Szczesny had no chance of getting to. It was world-class from Kane and he has now moved into sole possession of 5th all time in goals scored for England (41). He won’t score many better than that one though!

I thought England were going to hold on, but the goal seemed only to galvanize the Poles and credit to them for keeping at it and playing for pride in front of their fans. Lewandowski had been quiet for most of the second half but saw a shot go just over the bar from the edge of the box, and England keeper Jordan Pickford was spared from a massive error when his goal-kick deflected off a Polish player and back towards the England goal. Pickford was able to scramble back in time to save it before the ball went over the line, but that had the potential to be really embarrassing. Curiously and somewhat frustratingly, England had failed to make any substitutions despite Poland’s growing presence in the match. More on that below.

Poland were rewarded for their tenacity in stoppage time when Lewandowski found himself on the ball on the left side of the penalty area, as a result of Poland’s siege on the England goal. He was allowed to take a few touches and hit a cross to the back post, where his compatriot Damian Szymanski was crashing towards the goal. Luke Shaw tried to get in the way but Szymanski got to it first and headed in from point-blank range with Pickford stranded. It was a very good goal and a stark reminder that Lewandowski can create just as well as he can score. The goal secured a vital point for Poland and they now sit in 3rd place in Group I.

From England’s point of view, there are worse things than an away draw to Poland. Yes we lost the 100% qualification record and yes it always sucks to have a lead and squander it, but those are minor blips on the radar. The truth is that we are one step closer to World Cup 2022 after today. England have a four point lead at the top of Group I with 4 games left to play in the campaign, with two of the remaining matches against minnows San Marino and Andorra. Qualification is not secured of course, but England will feel very good about their chances despite today’s minor setback.

The biggest negative by far today was that it seems that Southgate has not learnt his lessons about substitutions, tactical flexibility, and risk-taking that he should have learned from the Euro 2020(1) final. For some inexplicable reason, Southgate did not use a single substitution in today’s match. I do not understand that at all. He defended his decisions after the match by saying he didn’t want to “disrupt” anything due to the fact that things were going well. Was he watching the same match everyone else was? It was clear to see even to the most casual observer that England were tiring in the final 15 minutes or so. They wanted to just hold on and defend, and they were having issues maintaining possession due to being constantly harassed by the Poles. Some new and energetic legs in midfield or defense would have been just the remedy to potentially get Poland out of our half of the pitch. Poland were knocking on the door at the end there and it was obvious that the lead was in jeopardy, but Southgate did nothing about it.

To be clear, it’s not like he had to bring another forward on or an attacking midfielder. He just needed to bring on a defensive midfielder like Jordan Henderson and also maybe a replacement for Mason Mount or Grealish. All we needed was to be a little more solid in possession for the final few minutes and we’d have all three points. But no, he let obviously-tiring players stay out there and we were overran by Poland due to the simple fact that they made subs and we did not. So maddening. Sure, the penalty for it this time is minimal, and Southgate is still of course the most successful England manager of my lifetime. However, if we lose another big match this way by squandering a lead due to our own errors I’ll be calling for him to be sacked. This generation of England players is simply too talented to let them be wasted due to basic managerial errors like failing to make a substitution ins a close game, or making them too late for it to matter.

All of the players will be returning to their clubs now for the resumption of club football at the weekend. Manchester United will be hosting Newcastle at Old Trafford on Saturday, September 11th. This shall likely be a very notable match to watch because it will almost certainly mark the return of Cristiano Ronaldo. While he likely won’t start, he will likely come off the bench in the second half so the fans can give him a rousing reception. All I would like is a relatively stress-free 3 points, please.

England Display a Dominant Second Half Performance In Victory Over Hungary

Today, England travelled to the elegant Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary to play their first match since the loss against Italy in the final of the European Championships. The Three Lions came into the match top of the World Cup qualifying group having won all three of their matches so far, but Hungary were a mere two points behind them in Group I.

Although a victory for England was expected, Hungary are not a team of pushovers like they have been in the past. They are well-organized and tactically sound defensively, and that can create problems for any opposition. This same Hungary team pushed France and Germany to their limits at Euro 2020(1), and they were buoyed by the addition of their most naturally talented player – attacking midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai. Don’t ask me to pronounce his name, as the trickiness of the pronunciation is mirrored by the trickiness of his feet. England would need to make sure he is marked at all times because he has the dribbling and shooting technique to trouble even the best defenses.

England took the pitch in front of a packed house in Hungary, and the atmosphere pre-kick off was mostly upbeat. England were on the ball for most of the first half though, and were clearly the better side in terms of possession, passes, and chances created. The problem was struggling to get clear shots on goal. The Hungarians deployed a 5-3-2 formation that made them incredibly difficult to break down. The other side of that though is that they had no presence in midfield and couldn’t get the ball into Szoboszlai or any of their attacking players. I don’t think England keeper Jordan Pickford even touched the ball in the first half, aside from goal kick clearances. A very stale encounter in that first half plus a very hostile atmosphere had me thinking that England may need to be satisfied with a draw today.

But England upped the tempo a little bit in the second half and Hungary struggled to keep up. Harry Kane just missed a gilt-edged chance on 50 minutes after being through on goal. It was a good save from keeper Péter Gulácsi but you feel that given Kane’s quality he should have scored. But no worries though, as Hungary were undone just 5 minutes later. West Ham midfielder Declan Rice did well to win the ball in midfield, and he played a quick pass out to Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish on the left wing. Grealish brought the ball to edge of the area, after he which he played in fellow midfielder Mason Mount on an overlapping run towards the end line. Mount used his quickness to get to the ball and drag a cross back along the ground, directly into the path of the unmarked Raheem Sterling. Sterling had to be quick, but it was a relatively simple finish into the bottom corner with Gulácsi unable to get to it. Good team goal from England and it was 1-0. The celebrations for Sterling were marred by some poor behavior from Hungary fans in the stands, who decided it would be a good idea to throw full bottles and cups at Sterling from the stands. More on Hungary’s fans below.

The second goal came via the talismanic Kane about 8 minutes later. Sterling found himself under a bouncing ball on the right wing, and he hit it first time low and along the ground towards Kane in the middle of the box. The ball took a bounce off the foot of a Hungarian defender, which caused the ball to pop up in the air a bit. Kane was able to get his head to it with enough power to put it through the arms of Gulácsi for 2-0. Always good to see Kane on the score sheet and he atoned for his earlier miss with that header. Now that all 3 points were in the bag, you could see England relaxing a little and just seeing the game out.

That didn’t happen though, as center back and Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was next in the queue to score England’s third just 6 minutes later. The floodgates had well and truly opened, as Kane was unlucky not to get his second just before Maguire’s goal. Fellow Red Devil Luke Shaw delivered in a peach of a cross from a corner, and Maguire did well to position himself under it. He headed the ball down and towards the opposite corner, but it didn’t appear to have a ton of pace behind it. Gulácsi couldn’t get down in time to save it though, and it rolled in after taking a deflection off his arm. Good teams can score in a variety of ways, and England showed they are capable of that by finally executing a set piece. Our defenders are so big that we should be scoring more often from those.

The fourth and final nail in the coffin came on 87 minutes, and this time it was Rice both finishing the chance and somewhat creating it. Kane had just missed another chance to score, and Pickford had actually made his first real – if routine – save of the game just after that. But Grealish was involved once again as well, and this time he got an assist. Rice played the ball to Grealish on the right side of the box. Grealish then cut in from the right side using his dribbling and looked to be trying to create space for a shot. He was blocked off though by defenders so he wisely played a backwards diagonal pass back to Rice, who was positioned for a shot on the edge of the box. He passed the ball with the inside of his foot towards the goal, and it was straight at Gulácsi. He really should have done better with the save, as he seemed to drop it and the ball went under him before it went over the line. Still, poor keeping or not, you have to have the temerity to take on that strike and Rice should be credited for going for goal.

So yes, 4-0 away in a hostile atmosphere in a competitive match is about all you can ask for. England were patient in the first half, and that patience was rewarded with dominance in the second. Hungary may feel that poor keeping did them in today, but England’s first goal had nothing to do with Gulácsi. Once the first one went in, you felt the result was never in doubt. Hungary were just lacking the quality going forward today. It’s an over-simplification to blame the keeper in this case, despite his notable errors.

The behavior of too many of the fans in Budapest was very disappointing, not only due to the bottle-throwing after Sterling’s goal but they also booed when England players took the knee before kickoff to protest racism in football. Hungary’s players were very professional in this match and credit to them for showing their fans that is possible to lose with dignity and grace. But that fanbase has a reputation for poor sportsmanship and FIFA must take action to regulate this sort of thing if they are serious about stamping out hooliganism and fan violence in this sport. UEFA has already sanctioned the Hungarian Football Association and had this been a Euro qualifier the match would have been played in an empty stadium. But it seems that FIFA and UEFA don’t carry the same punishments for whatever reason. I am sick of this pigheaded behavior from supporters and it needs to stop. England fans are no exception to that, either. There are too many England fans who behave this way too, they just weren’t on TV today. It is always difficult for me to call out this behavior from other countries when England’s house isn’t fully in order.

But in terms of the match, this was a very good performance from the lads and exactly what England needed to exorcise a few of the demons lingering after the loss to Italy back in July. Coming out against decent opposition, away from home, and putting 4 past them in a span of 32 minutes is just what the doctor ordered. England were already in the driver’s seat in this group, but now World Cup qualification seems much closer despite the fact that there’s only been four of ten games played in this campaign. Hungary are probably the second-best team in the group (aside from maybe Poland) so England can take confidence from the way they handled themselves today. Composed and clinical after a potentially-frustrating first half. Man of the Match for me is Declan Rice, but a case could be made for Sterling, Grealish, or Kalvin Phillips.

England take on minnows Andorra at Wembley on Sunday. An emphatic win is expected against such a small nation. England are now 5 points clear on top of Group I.

Three Lions On the Shirts!