A lot has changed for England in the past year and a tricky trip to Hampden Park for a World Cup qualifier offers Marcus Rashford and company a chance to shineDespite Saturday night’s showpiece in Cardiff, the season is not quite over yet. A round of internationals can be found tagged on almost apologetically next weekend, with England involved in a World Cup qualifier against Scotland in Glasgow on Saturday before a friendly in France takes place three days later.A return to France will inevitably evoke memories of another tired tournament campaign coming to an even more cataclysmic end than usual with defeat by Iceland, though it might be more positive to reflect on how much has changed since then....
Bruce Arena will be happy after the USMNT steadied the ship with a win and a draw – and attention came back to a certain Borussia Dortmund player againIn a lot of ways Bruce Arena inherited a very generous brief from Jürgen Klinsmann. After the leaking away of the German’s authority, the two losses that opened World Cup qualifying had reduced the grander ambitions of the Klinsmann project to the stark triage mode of “getting out of the Hex”. Related: USA fail to hit the heights but pick up useful point against Panama Continue reading...
Video technology has a strong debut, Argentina are in trouble without Lionel Messi and Ross Barkley continues to occupy the sidelines Related: Wilfried Zaha hits back at Southgate’s ‘timescale’ claim over England selection Related: Argentina suffer setback in Bolivia after Lionel Messi banned for four games Related: Brazil qualify for 2018 World Cup after Coutinho and Neymar down Paraguay Continue reading...
Sunderland striker showed he has lost none of his sharpness or eye for goal to vindicate Gareth Southgate’s decision to recall him after three years awayThere was something very familiar about all this. The sight of a winger bustling to the byline and, even as he pulled the ball back across goal, being absolutely convinced the net would be billowing by the time his momentum had carried him on to the artificial turf ringing the pitch. Jermain Defoe tends to offer that calibre of reassurance, forever loitering as he does in enemy territory spanning the width of the posts, the six-yard box only ever a dart away, defenders constantly on edge. Cue that trademark celebration, arms stretched wide, as the...
Kyle Walker’s raids carry an impressive threat, Joe Hart fails to inspire confidence while the crowd show good humour after boorishness in GermanyGiven how low the bar was when Gareth Southgate came in, the first thing he had to achieve to be able to point to progress was avoid becoming embroiled in a national scandal or humiliation. It is thumbs up on that front for now and there is circumstantial evidence of progress beyond that. After an honourable defeat by an improvised Germany team, England showed against Lithuania just enough speed and clever movement to unhinge opponents who aspired to do nothing more than erect human barricades around their box from the first minute. Both goals were beauties but there...