Leaders needed to cut out such sloppy goals

WHERE were the leaders in England’s defence when Spain scored their second goal from a free-kick? Harry Kane was marking Rodrigo but let his man run past him too easily. John Stones, who was standing behind Kane, needed to take responsibility and alert him to the Spaniard’s run. Kane may be the captain but England lacked a leader in the defence. Defenders’ reputations are built on clean sheets and the attitude at every set-piece has to be: ‘We concede over my dead body.’ When forwards come back to defend at corners and free-kicks, you have to expect the unexpected. Alan Shearer used to pride himself on being the man at the front post at corners but not all strikers have that same defensive instinct. At set-pieces I would stand behind a forward and talk them through the situation. All three England centre halves — Stones, Harry Maguire and Joe Gomez — need to become leaders in that back line. Gomez played well and only confirmed that he is a Rolls-Royce defender. He was the most accurate passer in the team. The next step is to become a domineering figure not afraid to point the finger at team-mates. I do not believe England would have conceded that second goal at the World Cup. The problem is that the players have had little time to get back in the groove with England. When England next meet up, how the team defend at set-pieces must be nailed down early on. Spain’s first goal exposed England’s inability to defend by pressing the ball. Luke Shaw was caught out when diving in to try to stop Dani Carvajal down the right but his team-mates did not do enough to help him. Had Dele Alli come across to engage Carvajal, Shaw would have been well-placed to track Rodrigo who put in the ball for the goal. Jesse Lingard did not get back into position quickly enough to stop Saul Niguez from scoring. England did not defend either goal well but there were still plenty of positives. Luke Shaw counter-attacked superbly, playing a wonderful pass for Marcus Rashford to score. When Eric Dier was on the pitch I liked how Stones stepped up into midfield and the Tottenham man dropped into the back three. There is now a monumental battle between not just Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker but Trent Alexander-Arnold, too. Switzerland tomorrow could be the perfect chance for Walker to prove why he should be starting. This defeat is no cause for panic. Tough, competitive games such as this will only aid their development.