England recorded a comfortable victory over The Netherlands on Friday evening.
Gareth Southgate’s side beat the Dutch 1-0 thanks to Jesse Lingard’s second-half goal, and they outplayed the hosts for large spells of the match in Amsterdam.
Here’s how we rated the England players on the night.
Jordan Pickford – 7
Impressive in possession, starting moves from the back and was extremely calm. He perfectly suits how England are trying to play, and the number one jersey looks to be his to lose.
Kieran Tripper – 6.5
Got forward at every opportunity but his final ball let him down on a few occasions in the first-half. Tested the Dutch ‘keeper with a decent effort late in the game.
Kyle Walker – 7
His selection as the right-sided central defender in a back-three was a surprise, but the Manchester City full-back showed his quality. Walker’s passing was crisp and accurate and he provided an attacking outlet when stepped into midfield.
John Stones – 7
Largely untested, but comfortable as ever when in possession and read the game well, making a number of interceptions.
Joe Gomez – N/A
Went off injured after just 10 minutes.
Danny Rose – 6
He played a dangerous cross in the second-half which led to Lingard’s goal. However, he was otherwise poor in his delivery in the final third and looked a little rusty after playing very little football over the past year.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 6
He worked hard, kept it simple in possession and won the ball back on a few occasions. One of his better performances in central midfield, aided by England outnumbering the Dutch in the middle of the pitch in the first-half.
Jordan Henderson – 6.5
Henderson was England’s captain on the night and played as the team’s deepest midfielder. ITV’s pundits singled him out for praise at half-time, complimenting his forward passes. However, the pundits appeared to be somewhat selective in their analysis, because most of his passes in the half were sideways or back to his defenders, all of whom are very comfortable on the ball. When he tried to play it forward, or spray it wide, the passes were often overhit or inaccurate. He worked hard and intercepted the ball three times, the joint-most of any player on the pitch. He can be happy with his display and improved after the break, but he also wasn’t exactly the English Sergio Busquets as ITV’s analysis seemed to suggest.
Jesse Lingard – 7.5
He was largely on the edge of the game but looked dangerous, attempting some threatening runs from deep. He took his goal very well, hitting a clean strike from outside the penalty area.
Raheem Sterling – 6.5
Linked-up well with his teammates and was a constant threat with his pace, running in behind the Netherlands’ back-three. A certainty to start at the World Cup.
Marcus Rashford – 6
This was Rashford’s first game at centre-forward this season. He went down a couple of blind alleys when on the ball and took a few wayward shots, but helped pin back the Dutch defence thanks to his pace. Unlucky not to win a penalty.
Subs
Harry Maguire – 6.5
Comfortable on the ball and stepped into midfield impressively on a couple of occasions in the second-half. Seems likely to start for England at the World Cup.
Dele Alli – 4.5
Tried to get involved in play when he came off the bench, but largely to no avail and was often sloppy in possession.
Jamie Vardy – N/A
Jamie Vardy: Did not manage a single touch during his 22 minutes on the pitch in England's 1-0 win over the Netherlands #NEDENG
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 23, 2018
Danny Welbeck – 5
Wasn’t really involved in the game.
Ashley Young – 5
A solid 20 minutes or so at wing-back.
Eric Dier – N/A
