Lithuania vs England a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
October 9, 2017
2,161 Views
- I’ve only watched the highlights of this game so cannot give my full take on proceedings on last nights England game
- But in fairness I think that was all that I need to watch as once again it was a very uninspiring performance
- With qualification booked on Thursday this was always going to be a dead rubber
- It is fair to say that it very much lived up to those expectations
- Harry Kane scored his fourth England goal in as many matches as his spot kick proved to be the difference
- The goal had a Tottenham connection as the returning Dele Alli was tripped in the box which lead to the award of the spot kick
- The team did have a Tottenham air about it as Harry Winks made his England debut and it is fair to say he looked assured in the full national setup
- The same cannot be said about Jordan Henderson who offered a pretty turgid performance in what was a much changed England side
- Once again Gareth Southgate decided to switch the shape of the team around in terms of formation and personnel
- After already booking qualifying that is his right but even watching the highlights it did feel that this encounter had the air of a training fixture
- Michael Keane was handed another cap and nearly shanked the ball into his own net, he had Stoke’s Jack Butland to thank for sparing his blushes
- Harry Maguire was also given his debut as a full international and looked solid if not spectacular
- England weren’t really troubled by Lithuania but that was more down to their finishing then anything else
- Had they been against sterner opposition then it could have been a different story
- That sterner opposition will come in the form of Brazil and Germany next month in international friendlies
- If the eleven that played last night went up against either of these two sides I don’t think it would make for pretty viewing
- And that is exactly what England have not been under Gareth Southgate – pretty viewing
- Again they laboured to another win last night
- They ended their campaign with victory but it was nowhere near ending with a flourish
- Do you have to just admit that England need to look at pragmatism over points, just get the job done regardless of performance
- In a sense that is fair enough but with the talent which is on offer there should be a lot more on offer from this England team
- Quite simply England are going to have to be better than this when they reach Russia
- Once again they just seemed flat, whether that was a consequence of already qualifying and going through the motions could be argued
- But at the same time it was no different then what they showed against Slovenia
- At the end of the day two very flat performances have warranted six points but it has been an absolute chore to sit through, even when watching the highlights
- Last night was always going to have an air of experiment behind it, it was an experiment where we didn’t really learn anything new
- Except perhaps Harry Winks, I may be biased as a Tottenham fan but keep an eye on him he could end up being very useful for England.
- We certainly need something a bit different in the middle of the park
- Roll on Russia
Like this:
Like Loading...
Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
