HENDERSON THRILLED WITH ENGLAND SHOW
Skipper Jordan Henderson was a happy man as England claimed a morale-boosting 1-0 friendly win over Holland in Amsterdam last night.
Gareth Southgate’s men capped a promising display with a deserved victory as an experimental side won thanks to Jesse Lingard’s first international goal.
Liverpool’s former Sunderland midfielder Henderson, handed the captain’s armband, was delighted with a first England win over the Dutch since 1996.
“I thought, for the majority of the game, we were in control,” said the Wearsider.
“First half, I thought we dominated with the ball, possibly could have created a little bit more.
“But I thought the first half was a solid performance.
“Second half, they changed the formation a little bit to try to stop us to playing a bit, but I still felt when we moved the ball well we created some good chances and, when the ball fell to Jesse, I knew he’d score.”
One-time Sunderland loanee Danny Rose was not having the best of evenings, but he was involved in the goal. His left-wing cross ended up taking a deflection and Lingard met the loose ball with a smart first-time finish.
Southgate tried out a three-man central defence and Henderson enthused: “I thought they were outstanding “The three at the back, we look solid with that shape. It gives licence to get forward.
“They found it difficult to handle that.”
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.
Ex-Sunderland keeper Jordan Pickford, auditioning for the No.1 job, comfortably dealt with a long-range Matthijs de Ligt strike before smartly coming off his line to thwart Quincy Promes, but there was not a whole lot for the Everton man to do.
England were the brighter side in the first half and Henderson flicked a header wide, with Raheem Sterling prevented from being put through by Lingard’s smart ball by charging Holland goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet.
Southgate’s men were playing with freedom and Marcus Rashford, spearheading the attack, was angered not to win a penalty shortly after half-time, after going down in the box under pressure from De Ligt and Zoet.
After the goal, Holland looked to respond as Bas Dost and De Ligt had attempts, although the sheer numbers of changes from both sides took the sting out of proceedings.
It was a low-key game but surely a helpful evening for Southgate and his troops.