Southgate dishes out rewards for hard yards
WAYNE ROONEY never dipped his glorious toes into the nether regions of British football.
The much-feted one came through the ranks at Goodison Park and only ever played at the highest level, with Everton, Manchester United and England.
Except for his latest stint at DC United in Major League Soccer, of course, but at the grand old age of 33 you can excuse him that. Much of the rest of Gareth Southgate’s team last night had to earn their place at English football’s summit the hard way. A very hard way, in some cases.
The team picked by Southgate to face the USA last night in their warm-up for Sunday’s crunch Nations League game
against Croatia featured no fewer than eight players who had made their names in the Championship – and one or two who have fought their way through from even further down the pyramid, even in non-League football.
Leading the England attack was Callum Wilson, who six years ago was playing for Tamworth in the Conference.
He fought back from two cruciate ligament operations with Bournemouth, and celebrated with his second-half goal.
Making his debut in the centre of defence was Lewis Dunk, Brighton born and bred and with six seasons in the Championship under his belt before the big time finally beckoned.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had loan spells in the Conference with Darlington and Alfreton. Substitute goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, who came on at half-time, donned the gloves at the likes of Woking, Cambridge United and Team Bath on his journey.
Southgate has not been afraid, since he took over the England job, to look at players whose path to the top has been unconventional.
In some ways he has been forced to, with his options in the Premier League reduced by the flood of foreign players into the country’s top clubs.
It has been an option, though, that has worked for the England manager, with the sheer hunger of the players in his teams, and their will to win, evident at the World Cup in the summer.
That hunger was all too clear again as Wilson made several dangerous runs into the USA penalty area at Wembley, flicked a cross from Jesse Lingard across the face of goal and then struck England’s third.
The Bournemouth striker had waited a long time for this moment. A lot of them had.
And despite the Rooney-fest last night, it was the Wilsons, Dunks and Jadon Sanchos that this match was about.
It was Southgate examining his options for the future, and, encouragingly, looking outside the elite for players.