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Gordon and Bellingham shine as England’s attack clicks into gear
England 3-0 Costa Rica
England’s final warm-up game before the World Cup was delayed by an hour because of a thunderstorm. It is a situation they might have to get used to during this tournament.
But when the game finally began there were more than a few forks of lightning out on the pitch: Anthony Gordon looked razor-sharp, and confirmed that he is Harry Kane’s understudy when it comes to taking (and scoring) penalties, Elliot Anderson a bit like a midfielder that Manchester City value at north of £100m – and then there was Jude Bellingham. He rumbled around making things happen. Provoking and creating. His presence was felt.
Starting in his preferred role as a No 10, Bellingham looked like a player ready to make an impact at this tournament. There is an air and there is an incisiveness to his football and, intriguingly, for a few minutes at least Thomas Tuchel tried him as a striker, a No 9, with substitute Morgan Rogers close to him. That helped force England’s second goal, through a fine dribble from Bellingham aided by Rogers’ pass. The combination caught the eye.
Bellingham and Rogers – close friends – in the team together, rather than rivals? Tuchel had said it was possible. And it was also possible for Eberechi Eze to get in – and that happened, too. He was true to his word.
Against Costa Rica – who were without half of their strongest XI, in fairness – England should have won far more convincingly but, thankfully, they were better than in the flat 1-0 victory over New Zealand on Saturday.
There was sharpness, there was speed and aggression and there was a desire to go for goals. Did we also see Tuchel play his hand with his starting XI for next Wednesday’s first group game against Croatia?
Maybe so. There was no Marc Guehi, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka or Rogers and they will all have a say. But it was close and it was plausible and thankfully, it was effective.
Emphatically, Bellingham made a difference. The 22-year-old does not do friendlies and there were clashes and cross words with the Costa Ricans – who were undercooked but not adverse to putting their foot in, as they racked up yellow cards – that lifted England.
Bellingham looked like a player with a point to prove and as Tuchel tries to create competition and a bit of “jeopardy” in his squad there is no harm in that.
Interestingly it was the first time that Bellingham, Kane, Anderson and Declan Rice had started together under Tuchel and it was Rice who made an early mark, sweeping England into the lead.
It came as Gordon – hugely dangerous in his audition for the left-wing spot ahead of Rashford – burst to the byline and pulled the ball back. Not for the last time. Rice’s first-time shot took a deflection but still ended up in the net. Fresh from being publicly confirmed as England’s vice-captain it was an immediate impact from Rice, one of the four Arsenal players to join up late after the Champions League final.
Costa Rica did not qualify for the World Cup, which cost the previous coach his job while three players were dropped from the squad over indiscipline and an altercation involving shots – and not with footballs – fired at a car owned by one of them.
There were two smart saves from Costa Rican goalkeeper Patrick Sequeira – from a defensive header and from Noni Madueke who then struck a post when cleverly released by Bellingham. Really, he had to score, having rounded Sequeira, and Bellingham went over to console him. It was an embarrassing miss but was it all too easy?
With a rare touch Jordan Pickford made a mess of a clearance, miscuing with Costa Rica countering and gaining a corner. That was poor from the England goalkeeper and the kind of lapse in concentration that could be extremely costly in the tournament. Soon after Pickford struggled with a backpass from Ezri Konsa, claiming he did not get his angle right, before hitting it straight out of play.
So it was far from perfect. England’s share of possession climbed above 80 per cent and they continued to push for more goals with Madueke and Gordon threatening and Bellingham dominating.
As the hour mark passed Tuchel, as promised, made changes, six in all: Rogers, Saka, Guehi, Eze, Djed Spence and Dean Henderson in goal. Interestingly Kane came off, Bellingham stayed on and went further forward. From that position, Bellingham’s first involvement was a tight, close-controlled dribble in the Costa Rican area to tee up Eze. His shot flew wide but only because of a handball.
The penalty was given with Bellingham taking the ball but Tuchel’s assistant, Anthony Barry, stepped forward and made it clear that, in Kane’s absence, he wanted Gordon. Bellingham handed it over, Gordon made no mistake and England went 2-0 up.
After that it was a question of how many England would score and Tuchel would have been pleased at how the players went for it. Rogers had seen Bellingham impress, he had played with him and done well and now he wanted to make his mark.
He should have scored when sent clear but shot wide. He kept going and when another effort from him was saved, there was another substitute, Ollie Watkins, to finish. And still England pushed. They scented goals, they wanted to sign off with more – before heading to their World Cup base in Kansas City.
It felt like a stepping up of the preparations when it was needed. Gordon may have been the best performer, along with Anderson. But it also appeared that Bellingham’s inclusion had added a bit more edge. Tuchel had talked about him being in a “sweet spot”. He certainly left a sweet sensation with this performance. Was it enough to sway Tuchel to start with him next week? The momentum is heading in that direction although Rogers will push, either instead of or alongside Bellingham.
[Source: Daily Telegraph]
