England made it two wins from two in their pre-Euro 2020 warm-up games by beating Romania 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium.
The Three Lions hit the bar twice in the first half, initially through a Dominic Calvert-Lewin header and then from a superb curling atttempt by Jadon Sancho.
They eventually made the breakthrough in the second period via a composed Marcus Rashford penalty after the electric Jack Grealish had been clipped.
It wasn’t all plain-sailing for England, though, and they were indebted to their debutant goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in the second half when he made a remarkable save to deny an Andrei Ivan volley from point-blank range.
Jordan Henderson, on as a substitute for his first appearance in four months, then missed a penalty after Dominic Calvert-Lewin had been fouled by one-time Spurs defender Vlad Chiriches. Jude Bellingham, also introduced after half-time, went close with a late header.
Here’s how England’s key players performed against Romania:
James Ward-Prowse – 8/10
Arguably the most surprising omission from Gareth Southgate’s original 26-man squad, James Ward-Prowse offered a timely reminder of his quality by showing his prowess from set-pieces time and again. On another day, he could have had multiple assists. Southgate hinted pre-match that he already knows who will replace Trent Alexander-Arnold in the final 26. On this evidence, it has to be the Southampton man.
Marcus Rashford – 7/10
England’s youngest starting captain in 18 years, few could begrudge Rashford the honour of leading his country after the year he’s just had. The 23-year-old has looked a touch leggy in recent weeks but was sharp in the opening exchanges before fading as the game wore on. Dragged a shot wide after a decent run in the second half, before calmly scoring from the spot. Looks more likely to be used as an impact substitute at Euro 2020 rather than as a starter given the competition for places.
Tyrone Mings – 4/10
Tyrone Mings was guilty of committing a reckless challenge against Austria that went unpunished and he had a couple of rash moments in this game too, notably when lunging in on Nicolae Stanciu on the halfway line. An unconvincing display that doesn’t bode well for England if Harry Maguire is unable to recover in time from his ankle injury.
Jack Grealish – 8/10
It remains to be seen whether Jack Grealish starts in England’s opening game at Euro 2020 against Croatia a week today, but the Aston Villa captain couldn’t have done much more to force his way into the XI during these two warm-up games. Romania, like Austria in midweek, simply couldn’t live with him and it was no surprise that it was he who won the penalty. Grealish’s penchant for winning fouls could come in very handy at a major tournament.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 6/10
Showed what he brings to the table by almost scoring with a towering header from a Ward-Prowse free-kick as his effort clanged off the crossbar. Looked destined to score from another terrific Ward-Prowse delivery but was unable to get sufficient purchase on his effort in the second period. Won England’s second penalty of the game and initially looked to be taking it before Henderson nicked the ball off him only to miss.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3cm8NII
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