England player ratings from a chastening 2-1 Wembley defeat to Greece
Thatā¦ was not good. England have suffered heavier defeats in recent times, but itās hard to think of many worse ones than this Nations League catastrof*ck against a Greece team who first shocked and then tormented Lee Carsleyās ultra-attacking team, and could easily have won by a cosier margin.
It feels like a far worse night for the interim ā but surely not now permanent ā manager than any individual player. āThe end of Lee Carsleyās England honeymoon periodā is not a sentence one could even have conceived of writing 18 months ago, but there we are. Also, though: it was still a very bad night for a lot of individual England players.
JORDAN PICKFORD
Very nearly suffered a nightmare start, having to be saved twice in quick succession by first Levi Colwill and then the linesmanās flag after going walkabout outside his area and then flapping at the resulting corner, perhaps in a fit of over-eagerness to atone for the earlier error. It was an unusually flustered and unsteady performance from Pickford in an England shirt and, while he couldnāt be held directly responsible for either of the goals England conceded he certainly added to the overriding sense of panic that was the deeply alarming hallmark of Englandās work at the back here.
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
Uncomfortable early glimpses of those old defensive frailties when dispossessed in possession and then run at with alarming ease but the other side of his game was soon in evidence with an outrageous cross from deep on the right from which Anthony Gordon should probably have scored. Was then one of three players who failed to make any kind of meaningful challenge on Vangelis Pavlidis as he tiptoed through the England box to score the opening goal. Four key passes and 12 crosses highlight how vital he was to Englandās attacking play despite all the other attackers on display, but no member of that nominal back four can really escape criticism for just how often and how easily Greece got around and behind them, even allowing for the ultra-attacking remit the full-backs were given.
JOHN STONES
Should also have done more to stop that opening goal. Itās a tough gig being a centre-back in this set-up, but as the senior man thereās a good argument he was the one who bears the brunt of the responsibility. Itās not Cole Palmerās natural habitat, is it, making challenges in his own penalty area? More of a bystander for the second goal which is arguably worse and really at no point in the evening was there ever a sense of Englandās defence operating as a cohesive unit sure of its plans. As captain and senior pro, heāll know that a lot of that responsibility and thus blame has to land on him even if the bulk of it will rightly go towards a manager from a public who will instantly memory-hole the fact he gave them precisely what they spent all summer asking for.
Not the night he will have wanted on his first as skipper, and in truth he looked like what he is: a player short of match sharpness. We still canāt really understand why Greece scored two goals ā and could really have had many more ā without anyone really seeming interested in attempting a tackle here and there to try and prevent it.
LEVI COLWILL
Brilliant goalline clearance early on to spare Pickfordās blushes but having finally got a proper England chance in his preferred position at centre-back found himself alarmingly and frequently exposed by a system where really only he, Stones and Declan Rice were handed any kind of meaningful defensive remit. For all the talk of Englandās false nines, here was a reminder that actually the biggest problem with shoehorning all the attacking players you can find (but no strikers) into a starting XI can leave you with a bit of a false back four.
Undeniably at fault for Greeceās late winner, but like the rest of the defence has plenty of mitigation if he wants to make the case that they were let down badly by both the system and the players in front of them. What Carsley attempted here was something close to Angeball but without a striker and, crucially, the fastest footballer in all the land. And even when it does have those things, Angeball still doesnāt actually work.
READ NEXT:Ā Carsley succumbs to England clamour in shambolic Greece defeat that ends managerial hopes
RICO LEWIS
A brilliant young player asked to do something really quite staggeringly hard in playing as a full-back with instructions to attack but still keep the door closed behind him. Was frequently out of position as a esult, which perhaps isnāt a great surprise, and a difficult night ended with a calamitous involvement in the late Greek winner. Yes, he should have done better but no, it shouldnāt have got so very messy by the time it got there.
DECLAN RICE
May wish to reach out across the North London divide and compare notes/sympathise with Rodrigo Bentancur about how stupidly difficult it is to play as a one-man midfield against almost anyone other than Manchester United. Really did about as well as could be expected given the calamities occurring all around him, with a 96 per cent pass completion rate absurdly good in the isolated circumstances in which he found himself.
COLE PALMER
Surprised himself as much as anyone else when blazing over from a good position having been teed up by Jude Bellingham. Pretty clear that Palmer arriving like that from a deep position as Riceās nominal central-midfield partner was a key element of the Carsley masterplan. Might have been a very different night had that come off. But really only looked at all comfortable when switched to the right when Carsley reluctantly introduced an actual striker for the last half-hour.
PHIL FODEN
No getting away from the fact itās another deeply disappointing night for a player who just cannot seem to crack international football for reasons that really do defy all logic. Surely cannot be that a player as good as Foden cannot solve this puzzle but if youāre looking for a way to squeeze a striker on to the pitch at the expense of one of your many, many No 10s when everyone is fit and available itās hard currently to make a case for Foden avoiding that chop. A baffling and frustrating thing for all concerned. Zero shots, zero key passes, zero crosses, zero dribbles attempted. Not so much a performance as the near total absence of one.
BUKAYO SAKA
A really difficult night. England struggled to get him in the game and on the ball, and he struggled to force his way into it before succumbing to injury.
JUDE BELLINGHAM
Englandās number 10 wore the number eight to play as the false nine in Carsleyās flexible yet wildly attacking starting XI. Didnāt always look like everyone knew exactly who was supposed to be doing precisely what, but when it worked it did look lovely. Stung the keeperās palms with an early shot and then ended a brilliant move by teeing up Cole Palmer running from deep which, had the finish matched the move that preceded it and Palmerās own high standards wouldāve been close to the perfect goal from this set-up.
He tried to get the crowd going but never really seemed to be convincing even himself before popping up with what looked like another WHO ELSE? moment only for England to have one last defensive shambles up their sleeve. Is probably Englandās best player and was probably their best player on the night. But that second part really is saying vanishingly little here.
ANTHONY GORDON
Not quite been at his best for Newcastle and didnāt exactly look full of confidence here. Definitely should have done better with that header when picked out so brilliantly by TAA ā anything on target was surely a goal ā but while he was full of running and endeavour and could not be faulted for effort, Englandās attacking shape looked better after he departed.
SUBSTITUTES
NONI MADUEKE (for Saka, 52)
Started on the right before soon finding himself on the left but never really imposing himself on proceedings from either position.
OLLIE WATKINS (for Gordon, 60)
Carsley finally admitted defeat on the hour with the introduction of Watkins and a return to a more recognisable formation with Bellingham dropping deeper, Palmer moving to the right, Madueke to the left and Watkins going up front to try and do the job without any of that āfalseā malarkey. Could and probably should have scored an instant equaliser but did produce the cutback that led to Bellinghamās goal.
DOMINIC SOLANKE (for Foden, 72)
Not many people spend as long as a one-cap wonder and still manage to get out of that club, so fair play to Solanke there. Very funny that his introduction essentially meant an evening that had begun with experimental false-nine wokeball ended with England going four-four-f***ing-two and we think he might also have got a nick on Watkinsā cross before it made its way out to Bellingham which means he might even get credited with the assist, soā¦ youāre still thinking about the bad news, arenāt you?
