Goalden boy Jesse!
UNITED STAR’S FIRST FOR ENGLAND
GARETH Southgate’s men capped a promising display with a deserved victory as an experimental England side secured victory – thanks to Jesse Lingard’s first international goal.
Time is running out for players to prove their worth with the World Cup just three months away, while the Three Lions boss does not have many more opportunities to tweak with things ahead of the opener against Tunisia.
With that in mind Southgate raised eyebrows with some selections for the final game on foreign soil before heading to Russia, but England looked confident against one of the most notable World Cup absentees as Lingard’s maiden goal secured a 1-0 win against Holland.
The Three Lions manager will be first to admit that there is still much work to do, but his side looked in control for the most part.
What looked to be a gamble in selecting Kyle Walker in a three-man defence worked well and Joe Gomez’s early injury did not throw the England backline off kilter against Holland, with players remaining patient in attack despite a lack of cutting edge threatening to be problematic again.
Marcus Rashford, spearheading the attack, was angered not to win a penalty shortly after half-time, but United team-mate Lingard soon struck his first international goal to put England on course for a deserved victory.
Southgate’s first win in a glamour friendly came at the sixth time of asking and the Three Lions boss will want to see more from his side against Italy at Wembley on Tuesday – the final match before he selects his World Cup squad.