DON’T LOOK!
Sloppy England face ‘relegation’ after drawing another blank
GARETH SOUTHGATE suffered more Nations League frustration last night as England were held to a grim 0-0 draw by European champions Italy at a near-empty Molineux.
Mason Mount hit the bar and captain Raheem Sterling missed an open goal as England stayed rooted to the foot of Group A3.
England, looking for some sort of revenge for last summer’s defeat by the Italians in the Euro 2020 final, have gone three matches without a win for for the first time in four years and with time running out before this autumn’s World Cup.
Southgate’s men, beaten 1-0 in Hungary last weekend and held 1-1 in Germany on Tuesday, have not scored a goal from open play in the campaign, and Mason Mount admitted it is a problem. ‘All we can do is work hard, look to improve – we have the talent to get through this,’ he said. ‘It is something we need to look at.’
England need to beat Hungary on Tuesday with the prospect looming of relegation to Nations League B. The crowd comprised 2,000 schoolchildren after UEFA sanctions banned fans.
THE SOUND and the fury of the final of last year’s European Championships, when fans ran amok and disorder was everywhere, were gone.
Molineux was empty, save for the high-pitched encouragement of a thousand or so kids, who cheered every England flick and shot.
Not that there were many of those. This match was intended as a punishment for what happened at Wembley last July and sometimes it felt as if England’s players, tired at the end of a long season, were doing their own kind of penance.
It was not a match to stir the emotions. It was a Nations League tie to be thankful for small mercies: England did not lose a penalty shoot-out to Italy at the end of this draw. Their players were not racially abused after it, as England’s unsuccessful spot-takers had been 11 months ago. And the children who were allowed in did not boo the England players when they took the knee, as 30,000 Hungarian kids had done in Budapest last weekend.
In terms of encouragement for what lies ahead in Qatar in November, though, this was a night of slim pickings.
It was not that England played badly, just that they did not play particularly well. No one stood out. No one demanded a place on the plane to the Gulf. This match, the first time the England men’s team has played at Molineux since 1956, was a game to be endured before the players can escape to somewhere sunny.
The drab goalless draw left England bottom of their group, not that anyone cared too much about that. This was all about thoughts of the World Cup. England, at least, will be there. The same cannot be said for Roberto Mancini’s team, who dived into decline after they broke England’s hearts by winning Euro 2020. England are building to Qatar. Italy are rebuilding.
Different observers will glean different things from the three Nations League games that England have played so far, but with only three more matches to go before England open their World Cup campaign in November, there are some hints about how boss Gareth Southgate’s thinking about his starting 11 is developing.
At the back, he has stuck doggedly with Harry Maguire, who repaid him with a solid performance last night and despite the criticism that has been aimed at him, it is getting increasingly difficult to see him being dislodged now.
Jude Bellingham did not play last night but if one player is going to burst into the line-up late, his performances have suggested he might dislodge Kalvin Phillips in midfield.
Most debate still rages around the line of three players who are likely to support Harry Kane as a lone attacker. Phil Foden’s chances of starting appear to have grown through missing these lacklustre matches and Mason Mount’s prospects have receded. Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling are favourites to make up the rest of that line of three.
Tammy Abraham was given a chance to stake his claim to be Kane’s understudy last night but he did not present a compelling case. He did not get an awful lot of service and remained a marginal presence throughout.
Keeper Aaron Ramsdale played well, deputising for Jordan Pickford, and even though Reece James had a solid match at right back, he is likely to be supplanted by Kyle Walker.
The match was not without chances and isolated sparks.
Italy should have scored inside the first two minutes. Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini split the England defence with a through ball to Davide Frattesi that left the forward clean through on Ramsdale. Frattesi took his time but slid his shot tamely past the far post. It was a lucky escape.
Two minutes later, it was England’s turn to waste a golden opportunity. Italy were too ponderous at the back as they tried to play the ball out and keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma’s pass was
intercepted by Abraham 10 yards out. He advanced on goal but just as he was about to shoot, a challenge from Manuel Locatelli did enough to put him off and the Roma forward scooped the ball behind.
England went even closer soon afterwards when Sterling played a beautifully weighted pass into the path of Mount. Mount ran on to the ball and hit it first time with his right foot. It beat Donnarumma but cannoned off the face of the crossbar and Abraham headed the rebound wide.
The chances kept coming. Midway through the half, Italy right back Giovanni di Lorenzo ran on to a diagonal ball and volleyed it across goal. It squirted through to the back post where Sandro Tonali was waiting. He hit the ball firmly but Ramsdale dived across his goal and saved the shot with his trailing leg. It was another escape for England.
Italy ended the half stronger, too. Ramsdale tipped over from Matteo Pessina and then the visitors nearly profited from some slapstick in the England defence. Jack Grealish and Abraham contrived to collide with each other as they tried to clear a high ball and when it fell to Locatelli, his volley was well-saved low down by Ramsdale. Grealish and Abraham left the pitch debating how their collision had happened.
England regrouped and as the light began to fade, James illuminated this old ground with a beautiful cross from the right after Grealish had floated a pass out wide to him. James’ cross evaded the Italy defence and found Sterling unmarked at the back post but it came to the England captain so fast that he could not control it and he lifted his effort over the bar from close range.
It was the last clear chance that either side created. After that, the match petered out. At least on Tuesday, Molineux will be full for the match against Hungary. For now, the punishment is over.