Jesse the job as late Lions flurry sees off minnows
ENGLAND returned to Wembley for the first time since July’s Euro 2020 final defeat with the most low-key of victories as Gareth Southgate’s ‘B’ team eventually ground down minnows Andorra.
The pain of that penalty shoot-out loss to Italy remains raw for English players, staff and fans but they took some of their summer frustration out on Andorra.
Jesse Lingard hit a double, and Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka scored one each, as the Three Lions put that infamous night of disappointment behind them.
How different this all was. As sedate an evening at Wembley as you could imagine. Both anthems and the taking of the knee were cheered and England fans showed appreciation for their heroes.
Gareth Southgate may have hoped for more from his shadow side but mostly they just passed Andorra off the park while running into dead ends.
Thursday’s 4-0 win in Hungary meant the ‘A’ team could have the day off but Lingard took his chance to mark his return after being left out for the Euros with a first England goal in three years.
When a header fell to him in the box on 18 minutes, he fired a scuffed shot which crept past goalkeeper Josep Gomes.
Trent Alexander-Arnold looked at ease in midfield but his side lacked a genuine spark. It was all too slow.
Debutant Patrick Bamford, withdrawn just after the hour, will rue his miss in the second half when well-placed. Reece James, who moved from defence into midfield for a spell after half-time, hit the crossbar with a rasping drive.
But in the end Southgate called for reinforcements. The cavalry arrived in the form of skipper Kane, Mason Mount and £100million man Jack Grealish.
But England remained ponderous, unable to find a cutting edge. Andorra were fairly comfortable rather than overrun, until late on. A whopping crowd of 67,171 turned out to see the beaten European finalists and those who stuck around saw a late flurry of goals.
With 20 minutes left, substitute Mount was fouled in the Andorran box. Kane stepped up to fire in the penalty and Lingard’s shot through the hands of Gomes with 12 minutes left added a third.
The Manchester United man completed a fine day’s work personally with the cross for Arsenal’s Saka – cheered all day by the home crowd – to head a fourth on 85 minutes, the most popular by far.
The three points cement England’s healthy position at the top of Group I but they will have to perform better than this in Poland on Wednesday night.