Gareth Southgate will name his replacement for injured Trent Alexander-Arnold on Monday, which at least gave an otherwise meaningless warm-up friendly some added value in Middlesbrough last night.
It was a severely weakened England side, without its Manchester City and Chelsea players for their final game before the Euros start against Croatia on Sunday.
And the absence of such key personnel left this game in danger of becoming the phoneyest of phoney wars with a starting XI that included three players who were not even named in the manager’s final squad last week.
But Marcus Rashford’s coolly-taken penalty against a deeply average Romania not only ensured England clocked up another win but the game also provided Southgate with plenty of food for thought.
James Ward-Prowse, for example, surely shot to the top of the replacements list for when Southgate makes his last selection decision.
The Southampton man was talked up by Southgate in midweek and was impressive at the Riverside in Middlesbrough, delivering two exquisite free-kicks that Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed against the bar and volleyed straight at the keeper.
Ward-Prowse is regarded as possessing the best set-piece delivery in the Premier League and if, as his critics maintain, he is something of a “one-trick pony,” he showed last night that is not a bad trick to have.
“We just want to check how we are after the game medically, check we have nothing to go through and will make the decision over the next 24 hours,” said Southgate. “I will keep my powder dry for now.
“Prowsey’s professionalism and approach all week, given the disappointment of being left out, has been absolutely first class but the decision won’t necessarily be about the performances today. It’s going to be positional really.”
Defenders Ben Godfrey and Ben White would appear to be the other leading contenders to take Alexander-Arnold’s place and whichever option Southgate selects could yet be determined by injury reports about Harry Maguire, who was again a non-starter at the Riverside.
“Harry is progressing well,” said Southgate. “He was running today so the last few days have been very positive. There’s still a bit of work to be done but he’s definitely heading in the right direction.”
At least Sunday’s game also answered one long-term injury concern with Jordan Henderson strolling through a second half appearance – his first football since February – and showing no ill effects from his groin operation.
Henderson had missed a midweek return in the win over Austria and while a start against Croatia may be overly optimistic, he at least looks capable of playing a meaningful role in the tournament.
Another big winner on Teesside came in the form of Jack Grealish, the Aston Villa midfielder surely playing his way into a guaranteed start next week with his man of the match performance although Southgate was giving nothing away.
“We’ve seen Jack, in these two games, he has those moments when he can really turn matches and it’s been useful for him to get those minutes under his belt and get a bit closer to full match sharpness,” said Southgate.
Stand-in captain Rashford was a little more glowing in his praise and sounded like a man who enjoyed playing alongside Grealish’s creativity.
“Jack is a great player,” said Rashford. “He will grow and grow in an England shirt. We know what he can do. It is about us all working so that he can realise that potential in an England shirt. We will win more games with him in the team.”
Still, despite some obvious positives from their final warm-up match, the weakened nature of Southgate’s line-up still offered little concrete proof about how good his team could be in the Euros.
Rashford, for one, was not getting too carried away about a narrow win over the 43rd ranked team in the world.
“We have to have that self-belief and self-confidence,” said Rashford. “But we know if we want to win the tournament we have to improve. We will keep our heads down and keep working.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3puPVwy
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