HARRYS SHOW THEIR WORTH
KANE AND MAGUIRE PUT DOWN MARKER FOR THE NEXT STAGE
IF last night’s match was Harry’s game, with the England captain finally throwing off his Euros invisibility cloak, it was just as much the other Harry’s game – in terms of significance for what is to come.
Thrown in to start his first match for six-and-a-half weeks, Harry Maguire came through with flying colours to deliver a significant shot in the arm to England’s ambitions of going the distance in the tournament.
Asked to go from nought to 60 with the Euros’ joint-leading scorer Patrik Schick in town, Maguire looked as if he had never been away, seeing the Czech star off after 75 minutes. As a test run for the knockout stages it was just what Gareth Southgate would have hoped for.
The England manager sees Maguire as an essential component of his defence. He championed the Manchester United captain before kick-off as the best English defender in the Premier League last season. Recalling Maguire was a rough call on Tyrone Mings, below, who had been an important part of the miserly England defence’s work thus far.
Maguire flexed his damaged ankle somewhat concerningly during the Czech anthem but there was no issue when the action started, certainly not with the precision pass to Kane in the 25th minute which split the visitors open.
While the headers he wins and the blocks he puts in are the bread and butter, and the crunching challenge that put a hole in Tomas Holes, a reminder of his physical presence, it is his distribution that lifts England.
In a sense it was a risk by Southgate to reintroduce him from the start but one with a safety net in the knowledge that whatever happened, England were in the last 16. Stress-free games for England at a major tournament are few, but here was one.
Odd how things work out isn’t it? The 0-0 draw that saw England booed off against Scotland turned out to have put them through with a game to spare. The only audible boos from the crowd last night came when news of Scotland’s equaliser against Croatia came up on the big screen, plus the odd murmur when Jack Grealish was replaced.
There might have been some when England took the knee but it was hard to tell, music from the PA system and loud applause combining to ensure it remained unheard. If the gesture ever was a moment of reflection, it isn’t any more.
On the whole though it was a feelgood night at Wembley. Against potentially tricky opponents England were
dominant. Not only that, they were bright and inventive too, particularly in the first half.
The assumption before the tournament was that England had a golden opportunity because of a possible route that featured six games out of seven at Wembley.
Remaining on that road was the prize on offer last night.
England have an excellent record there for Southgate. Before last night they had won 72 percent of their games under him at the stadium.
But tournament football on your own patch can bring its own pressures.
The reception after the Scotland game raised the issue of how much home advantage is actually worth to England. Even in the excellent opening win over Croatia there were pockets of disgruntlement.
The truth is that it can work both ways – but with their team on the front foot, the home fans were resolutely behind England last night.