England compensated for the lack of a cultured technical midfielder by turning the game into a wrestling match
It wasn’t the perfect performance. Perhaps, in a weird way, that was for the best. Imagine the nonsense we would have had to put up with for the next eight months if England had beaten the world’s No 1 team – and the home of the European parliament to boot – with a perfect performance. The hoopla. The hubris. The jingoistic fervour. The Michel Barnier memes. Lather up Europe, our brave lads are coming for you.
Yet in the absence of perfection, you suspect Gareth Southgate will be content simply to pile up results. And this was a very decent result against a good side, albeit one secured with a contentious penalty and a massive deflection. After all, this wasn’t a useless friendly: these three crucial points took England top of Group A2 of the 2020-21 Nations League. Win the group and England will progress to the next stage, whatever it is, whenever and wherever it takes place.
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