In the final game before Gareth Southgate finalises his World Cup squad, England were denied a fifth consecutive clean sheet as Lorenzo Insigne’s late penalty handed Italy a controversial draw on Tuesday night – as VAR played a critical role in determining the outcome of the game.
The first-half started off in sloppy fashion, with John Stones twice gifting the ball to the, if you pardon the pun, somewhat immobile Lazio striker Ciro Immobile who couldn’t shift the ball out of his feet quick enough to trouble Jack Butland.
Immobile had Italy’s best opportunity when he headed just over from inside the area. Pace and quick thinking were England’s greatest assets and they used it superbly to open the scoring, when Raheem Sterling drove through the midfield, going to ground twice before the equally impressive Jesse Lingard played a quick free-kick to put Jamie Vardy through on goal, with the Leicester City striker then arrowing a powerful near-post finish past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The second-half was played at a much slower tempo and both teams failed to create many chances of note, up until Federico Chiesa was stamped on by James Tarkowski inside the penalty area, despite having already lost control of the ball.
The referee had deemed that there had been no foul but the VAR assistant advised him to reconsider and he subsequently awarded a penalty. Insigne dispatched the penalty with great confidence to draw Italy level.
Here’s how we rated the England players in the game:
Jack Butland - 6
Insigne’s penalty was very well hit and Butland would’ve done superbly to save it, but he was given very few chances to show his quality – making just a handful of simple stops.
Kyle Walker - 6
His pace was well suited to keeping Insigne quiet and this also helped push England out of defence. His role with Manchester City has now made him well suited to playing in a back three for England – adding some much needed speed to the backline.
John Stones - 5
Got better as the game wore on but two early mistakes could easily have seen Italy capitalise and put the game beyond England. Replaced following a blow to the head, with his place in Southgate’s squad still almost all but confirmed considering the lack of quality surrounding the Manchester City centre-back.
James Tarkowski - 6
Some good, direct passing into the midfield seemed to be a sign of things to come and overall he was very composed but a dubious decision over whether he fouled Fedirico Chiesa – VAR stating he had despite replays showing no concrete proof of a meaningful intervention – soured an otherwise impressive performance.
Kieran Trippier - 6
Some decent overlapping runs but he didn’t get in dangerous positions regularly enough to trouble Italy, producing eight crosses but with just two of them finding their target. He did also produce two key passes helping release Lingard into space.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6
Was replaced by Leiws Cook midway through the second-half and didn’t produce as many of the direct driving runs as he did against Holland. Still his impressive showings for Liverpool this season are enough encouragement to give him a place in the side – depending on Jack Wilshere’s return and his subsequent form, however, Chamberlain may well be replaced in the starting line-up.
Eric Dier - 6
Safe in his passing and overall play, he is a slightly more composed and physical player than Jordan Henderson and with only one such player needed in the starting line up alongside the more dynamic box to box presence of someone like Oxlade Chamberlain or Adam Lallana, there is more in Dier’s performance to vindicate his selection ahead of the one dimensional Henderson.
Ashley Young - 7
Some brilliant aggressive attacking play to link up with Sterling and break beyond Italy’s deep defensive line. Had a couple of cross-shots blocked well, but he did allow Davide Zappacosta a lot of space to whip balls in.
Jesse Lingard - 7
Fantastic quick thinking to play in Vardy when the Italy defence had momentarily lapsed in concentration following the initial award of a free-kick. He was always free to pick up the ball and run, and his link up play with Sterling brought a bright and energetic impetus to England’s play.
Jamie Vardy - 7
Had a couple of snap shots prior to his emphatic finish high into the net. His goal scoring record for England should make him a must for a goal shy squad, even if he doesn’t start his impact off the bench cannot be underrated.
Raheem Sterling - 8
His movement drove the whole squad forward and everything England did well came through him, the only thing he’s missing from his game when playing internationally is goals and should he replicate his goal scoring prowess for Manchester City this summer, then England could have one of the most dangerous attacking threats in their side and that’s without making reference to Harry Kane’s influence.
Subs:
Danny Rose – 6: A key pass and a couple of crosses amounts to a decent showing for Rose. He will probably hang on to his spot in the starting line-up but only as a result of England’s lack of faith in Luke Shaw – whilst Southgate is unlikely to select 17 year-old Ryan Sessegnon as a wildcard choice, although his form over the past two seasons would sway my opinion if I were to pick the squad.
Adam Lallana – 6: Good to see him return to the England squad following a lengthy spell out with injury. Prior to his injuries, he had been performing with far more consistency than previously, especially for England. He also will compete alongside Oxlade-Chamberlain for a place in both the Liverpool and England sides.
Lewis Cook – 6: His Grandad will probably be even more pleased than Cook himself having bagged £17,000 for betting that his grandson would earn an England cap before his 26th birthday. An assured but by no means exhilarating performance by Cook.
Marcus Rashford – 5: Touched the ball just ten times and was barely involved in the game, not the best cameo performance from Rashford.
Jordan Henderson – 5: he inspires little to no confidence when he plays, his passing is either sideways or backwards and he doesn’t look to push play on. He is one of the first names on Southgate’s team sheet and if England are to progress they need to look beyond the mediocrity of players such as Henderson and Jake Livermore.