GARETH’S LION CUBS GROWING UP FAST
England keep Neymar at bay... and could even have pinched it
England’s players may only have been 90 minutes older at the end of this, but some of the younger ones may have felt five years wiser.
Joe gomez, for instance, deservedly voted man of the match, who can return to liverpool having kept the shackles on neymar. Harry Maguire, confidently bringing the ball out of the back, yet unashamed to plant the odd one into row Z when the occasion demanded.
John stones, growing with each game into England’s defensive leader. He’ll never be John Terry, but there is no better number for a defender than zero and three hours of football against germany and Brazil have produced that for England’s opponents, combined.
There will be those who will be dissatisfied with this performance, who will have found England dull and unimaginative, outplayed for long periods by a superior Brazilian side. Yet what did they expect? That gareth southgate would throw in a few kids, they would do a few tricks, and then go out and play Brazil off the park?
Football isn’t like that. Football is real. and this Brazilian team are real too, even if friendly conditions are artificial. Real skill, real talent, real intensity when they choose, real danger when attacking with purpose. so while these were far from World Cup conditions, this was a genuine test for a young England team and in their own limited way, they passed. They did not lose, they did not concede, they held their shape as the manager instructed, kept their discipline, and toughed it out.
From the start it was plain to see what southgate intended. last night’s tutorial: how to play against better opponents. How to stay in the game against a team that is superior technically.
southgate sent out a side to keep it tight and look to win on the counter attack, so this was a partial success, at worst. He might even have been accused of playing for penalties, had they been a factor in a friendly game — or if that were not a suicidal tactic for an England manager.
The bottom line: if England had to face Brazil in Russia in a knockout game, that is what they would need to do — even with a full team. Yes, they would have more chance of biting back with a starting XI that included Harry Kane and dele alli, but Marcus Rashford and Jamie Vardy worked hard here, and there were occasions when England with cooler heads might have nicked one against the run of play, and won.
It was late in the game when three England substitutes combined, finally finding the space to get behind Brazil. ashley Young crossed from the left, Tammy abraham got the knockdown and dominic solanke’s touch eluded him at a vital time, allowing Roma goalkeeper alisson to smother.
solanke is another of those unlikely promotions that have been a hallmark of this international break, southgate making his point that if senior players do not want to turn out, he will find keener, younger contenders who will. Equally, if England start playing this country’s youth, the pressure is on the clubs to do the same.
sadly, there will always be moments like this, when the best chance of the night falls to inexperienced feet. The thought of scoring the winning goal against Brazil may have simply overwhelmed solanke. Minutes later, the ball flashed across the six-yard box and abraham could not get there, either.
still, it was good experience. Maybe a better experience for the players than the fans, who have now watched three hours of goalless non- competitive football at Wembley as southgate hones his World Cup squad. What will please him is that his young group — not quite a B team, but certainly not his a — can diligently execute a plan, albeit an unambitious one.
Brazil saw a lot of the ball, but did not forge many chances. Fernandinho’s low shot hit the base of a post after 76 minutes, Joe Hart made an excellent save at the feet of dani alves — but it was not much to show, given their superiority. With five minutes to go, Paulinho eluded Young and forced another save from Hart and by that time it would have felt truly unfortunate had England lost. Brazil were the better team, of course, but England’s hard work did not deserve to go unrewarded.
Credit should go to England’s back five, and the grafters further forward, closing down Brazil’s craftsmen. Passes went astray under pressure, of course, but the determination was admirable, as were the energy levels.
Had England not stuck at their task, Brazil would have won; had they attempted a more ambitious gameplan, they would quite possibly have been caught. This might not have made for the most thrilling evening, and there was little to compare with the Christian Eriksen show in dublin, but here was an inexperienced England team playing experienced, intelligent football. It was, in its own way, better than the draw with germany.
Credit is due, certainly, for the hard work keeping Brazil at bay in the first half when they were liveliest. For all their excellent possession football, they did not greatly get behind England’s youthful defence and Hart has had considerably busier matches playing for West Ham this season.
It must have been tiring maintaining the concentration required to deal with Brazil, and perhaps that explained aberrations, such as the Maguire pass misdirected into touch under no pressure.
Rashford says he grew up idolising Brazil, and it showed. More than anyone in the England team, he seemed determined to emulate their skills, with varying degrees of success. Brazil’s greatness, their most admirable quality, is comfort in possession in tight spaces. Their best players want the ball, no matter how close the attention, and their team-mates will pass it in such situations, too. There may be a marker, two markers, sometimes as many as three. no matter. neymar will demand and service will be provided.
Yet England’s players earned equally merited praise by doggedly snapping at heels, hustling and hassling. Brazil had close to
70 per cent of possession in the opening 30 minutes, but it seemed more. Neymar, in particular was exceptional. On one occasion, in full flow, he slipped the ball through the legs of Jake Livermore, who continued his charge to close down like Wile E. Coyote, little realising he had run out of cliff.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s flicks and tricks were much lauded against Germany but, sadly, this evening could not have ended more differently for the young man. He limped off injured after 34 minutes and was replaced by Jesse Lingard, a rare disappointment at the end of a generally encouraging nine days.