Yahoo News England kids impress as Gareth Southgate keeps his big guns in reserve from Super Sunday decider with Croatia
This was a night to remember the past and be excited by the future. As it turns out, the immediate future.
Croatia’s victory over Spain in Zagreb means England can win Nations League Group A4 with a win over their World Cup semi-final conquerors at Wembley on Sunday.
And so, if Wayne Rooney’s farewell felt like a step back in time, what a chance Gareth Southgate and his players have to take a real leap forward now.
The team that takes to the field this weekend will bear little resemblance to that which swatted aside the United States with ease, but nevertheless momentum was maintained, confidence continued.
USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan denied Rooney the fairy tale finish with a smart save as the 33-year-old worked an opening in stoppage-time, but otherwise this was about as smooth a send-off as everyone could have hoped for.
England’s all-time record goalscorer was honoured, he looked sharp in a 32-minute cameo and Southgate fielded an inexperienced side that produced a variety of positives independent of the testimonial feel.
It was further vindication of Southgate’s decision to evolve England tactically from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3 that only Harry Winks and Ben Chilwell survived from the starting line-up that beat Spain last month, yet there was still an attacking fluidity which the visitors struggled to contain.
Uefa Nations League permutations
England beat Croatia:
England
Spain
Croatia
Goalless draw
Spain
England
Croatia
Score draw:
Spain
Croatia
England
Croatia beat England:
Croatia
Spain
England
Jadon Sancho seized the opportunity on his first senior start to show real promise, while Callum Wilson did not allow missed opportunities to play on his mind as he marked his debut with England’s third goal.
Prior to that, Jesse Lingard curled home a sumptuous 25th-minute opener and, two minutes later, Trent Alexander-Arnold - a menace all evening - struck his first international goal to help create the perfect environment for Rooney’s grand entrance.
The USA’s present state of reinvention following a failure to qualify for the World Cup notwithstanding, England showed an impressive strength in depth here which Rooney had admitted the teams of his peak years lacked.
Southgate’s attempts to instil a playing style which assimilates - and is not defined by - specific personnel received a real fillip as Wilson, Lingard and Sancho were more than a passing resemblance of Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling (below).
This one outing would never be enough to oust that trio, of course, but Southgate continues to make the most of what he regularly bemoans is a shallow talent pool.
The cumulative exertions of a tournament will not be replicated this week, but there was a notable drop off in England’s physical level during their World Cup semi-final against Croatia, underlining the importance of resting so many players against the USA.
Without wishing to detract from the credibility of England’s draw in Rijeka, the absence of an audience and the still somewhat shapeless nature of their Nations League group made that game a bizarre parody of a bona fide encounter. Sunday is different. A sell-out crowd will hope to gain a small measure of revenge for ending their summer party, hoping to see England notch another notable victory against an elite side.
The Nations League is a curious competition but, as Southgate said, “Someone is probably sitting in Geneva patting himself on the back” given all eventualities, even relegation, are possible ahead of the final match in the group.
It is difficult to place an exact importance and meaning on the outcome, given it lies somewhere between genuine competition and friendly, but the prize of early qualification for Euro 2020 is worth fighting for. Furthermore, England winning a group containing Spain and Croatia in a new system, while introducing several new players, would represent undeniable progress from the summer.
“We were very keen that we moved on from the World Cup as quickly as possible,” Southgate said. “It has been a brilliant year, whatever happens on Sunday. We’ve had real shoots of progress and have achieved some outstanding results and really good performances, and bloodied a lot of new players that’s given us a real depth and competition for places. But I think everybody wants to go another stage and get to a semi-final out of a group that is as tough as there is in this competition. It’s a really good game to look forward to.
“We’ve got two days to prepare - that was one of the reasons we played the team we did last night. We’ll look at Croatia’s game from last night just to see how they approached it, but we know pretty much all there is to know about them.
“Last night will have given them a huge lift. They’ll enjoy coming to Wembley. We knew the game without a crowd was as difficult for them as it was for us, but they’ll have big players relishing coming to Wembley. We have to relish it as well.”
Such occasions - perhaps most poignantly the last time Croatia came to England with a qualification spot on the line in 2007 - previously filled supporters with a degree of dread.
Yet, these days, Southgate is still keeping everybody thinking about what is possible.
