Well, that’s that. England have won another game 2-1 but this time with a callow team that only looked more assured when senior players came on. Eric Dier will not want to watch a replay of his own goal either. But the night belongs to Rashford, who showed wonderful skill and composure to bury his first international goal with his first international shot. Thanks for your emails and tweets. Goodnight.
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“Mooy, MOTM surely? Surely there’s a club in England who’d fancy him?” writes Michael Witheford from Melbourne. But wouldn’t that mean your team (I presume) Melbourne City, losing one of their best players? I was impressed by him. Maybe scouts were too. Who knows?
“Now, now Gregg. Don’t be belittling the arrival of Tom Heaton on to the international stage,” writes Tony Pastor. “Not only a brilliant keeper, but Burnley’s first full England international since Martin Dobson in 1974.” Yes, but is he a brilliant vibes man? Is he Bez? That’s what I’m asking?
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Full-time: England 2-1 Australia
Peep! And that’s that. It was a more comfortable second half for England than the first half was. Even after Eric Dier’s own goal Australia didn’t really cause England too much trouble. As for Hodgson, he now has a decision to make over Rashford. Who does he leave behind if he takes him? Drinkwater? Sturridge? Townsend? Barkley? Henderson? Questions, questions, questions …
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90+2 min: Townsend is hacked down by Jedinak after another positive surge forwards on the right. He’s had a great cameo. Anyway, here’s Matt Dony: “Rashford playing so well leaves Roy on a hiding to nothing. Either he rewards one excellent performance by taking him to the Euros at the expense of a more experienced striker, which is clearly a huge gamble. Or, he leaves him behind, in which case, what was the point of this run out so close to the Euros?”
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90 min: Henderson slices a shot well over. Australia look spent now. The substitutions appear to have made their play particularly disjointed.
89 min: Barkley has a shot from 20 yards out. I think he’s had a shot from 20 yards out in just about every match he’s ever played in. It’s deflected and gathered by Ryan. Meanwhile, David Wall writes: “If there’s one thing more astonishing than Rashford’s rapid rise to prominence it must surely be the prescience shown by someone working for your parish. I’m surprised that you lot haven’t been making more of this - Steve Walsh, eat your heart out.” Well, we’re a humble bunch here. Sometimes.
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87 min: Red-hot goalkeeper substitution action. Forster is off and Burnley’s Tom Heaton is on. He must be a good vibes man. Because being the third keeper at a tournament requires vibes, pure and simple. He must have a great playlist, really good conversation and perhaps good snacks too.
85 min: “Just a thought. To my eyes, Rooney has been consistently far better for England than Manchester United, for....yep...about 2 years....and what else happened in that 2 year time frame...toast, eggs, outright rebellion, destroying players by email etc. etc?! Maybe Roy, a different manager, isn’t so wrong after all to take the ailing 30 year old? It makes me scream at myself to think it, but no, maybe there is a place for him when he has a different manager? Any thoughts?” asks David Hindle. Well, of course there’s a place for him. I often think he has suffered at club level due to Gerrard-syndrome, when a footballer tries to do too many jobs because team-mates aren’t doing their own.
84 min: Kruse and Mooy have departed. Goodwin and Irvine sprint on to replace them. Degenek gives away a free-kick wide on the left. Milner to take it.
82 min: Townsend has had a fine few minutes, looking positive with every touch and setting off a move that ends only because Henderson overhits his final ball to Rooney, who was free in a central position. Townsend is one of those curious players who seems more comfortable in an England shirt than a club one. Can you think of any others? Is Steve Stone a fair example?
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80 min: Rooney is limping around a bit after Jedinak, who said he’d let off steam in this match after his FA Cup final woes, steps on Rooney’s heel. Jedinak has had a fine game by the way. As has Mooy. Both have been very assured on the ball.
78 min: There are boos from the Sunderland crowd. Why you ask? Because Newcastle United’s Townsend has come on for Sterling. Collective banter right there.
Goal! England 2-1 Australia (Dier OG 76)
Well. That’s not really what Hodgson would have wanted from his auxiliary centre-back. He’s scored in less time than Rashford did, diving to connect with a whipped-in cross from Degenek and arrowing a header past Forster. There was a touch of the Sandy Brown about that but from the other side.
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73 min: Eric Dier is on for Smalling, who seems to have cramp. Dier will slot in at centre-back so Hodgson will get a chance to see what he can do there.
72 min: Well, after saying the game had become dull it’s actually sparked to life a wee bit. Milner shifts the ball inside his marker in the Australia box and curls a low shot towards the back post but it’s wide. It was like he deliberately aimed at that spot wide of the goal. Strange.
70 min: Mooy, who has played ever so well, plays a lovely disguised pass in behind Stones to give Kruse a clear shot on goal from 16 yards out. He connects well but his low shot is straight at Forster, who saves with his legs.
69 min: The game has become a poorer spectacle for England finally gaining control of this game. Oh, hang on …
67 min: Ikonomidis, who came on as a substitute a few minutes ago, heads a yard wide when he had a great chance to nod down to Rogic, who on tonight’s showing would probably have dragged his shot wide. Actually, maybe I’m being harsh.
@GreggBakowski RE Rogic's shooting, check out SPFL Goal of the Season 2015-16 https://t.co/WQl798NyAC
— Ciaran Kohli-Lynch (@theceed) May 27, 2016
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65 min: Clyne powers a shot over the bar from 20 yards. England are looking a little more comfortable now. The midfield has more control and they’re pressing better in this half than they did in the first 45 minutes.
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63 min: Rashford receives thunderous applause from the Stadium of Light crowd as he is withdrawn. Barkley, who was/still is (delete as appropriate) a bright young thing himself is on in his place. Has Rashford done enough to go to France?
60 min: England scamper off on another break that results in a four on three situation in England’s favour. Sterling plays a neat backheel to Milner, who shimmies and touches the ball sideways to Rooney. He shifts the ball on rapidly to Rashford on the right but the youngster’s first touch is a little less than perfect. His resulting cross is just under Rooney’s feet. He can’t direct it on goal and it drifts harmlessly wide.
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58 min: Now, can England hold on to the ball any better then they were doing before that goal? Playing counterattacking football at home against Australia is certainly an interesting tactic.
Goal! England 2-0 Australia (Rooney 56)
Australia push England back to the edge of their penalty area. Incredibly deep in fact. But Henderson picks off a loose pass and plays a short ball to Rashford, who spins and lets the ball run on to Sterling on the left wing. He scoots 10 yards forwards and spies Rooney, unmarked on the edge of the box. Rooney takes one assured touch and rifles the ball into the roof of the net to give Ryan no chance. That was an emphatic finish and a fine break.
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54 min: If Rogic could shoot he might be a very good player. On this evidence, he can’t. He’s just lamped one over from 20 yards.
52 min: Jedinak picks the ball up in the quarter-back role and pings a 50-yard pass over the England defence to Kruse who, under pressure from Stones and Smalling, slams his left-footed shot over. That’s a warning shot. Also, England are making Jedinak look like Pirlo. Impressive.
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50 min: “Rashford is proof to Roy that talent can be found in the lower profile clubs. Maybe the kid has a future …” Michael Hood, ladies and gentlemen.
48 min: Rashford has a bright dart into the Australia penalty area, shifting the ball across his marker and trying to create a chance for himself but a swarm of gold shirts snuff out the danger.
46 min: Australia win a corner. Mooy swings it out towards the penalty spot but Smalling clears. Rooney gathers possession and does his new Rooney thing, which is the old Gerrard thing, of walloping crossfield passes to team-mates that look great but also take so long to reach their intended target that minutes have ticked by and defences have ambled back into position by the time they land. Still, his pass to Rashford set the youngster off on a run that was bright if ultimately fruitless.
45 min: It’s the second half. Rooney and Milner are on for Wilshere and Lallana. Rooney has gone into a central position and Rashford appears to be over on the right now with Sterling on the left. Will that help England get a bit of control?
Harsh?
@GreggBakowski England are very...Everton-y. Delicious in attack, yet you hide behind the couch when they defend.
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) May 27, 2016
There was a lovely shot of Marcus Rashford’s mother as he slammed home England’s goal. She was flushed with pride. England need to play more sharp little passes in behind Australia’s defence if her son is going to get any more chances to add to the fairytale story of his career so far. For that to happen he will probably need to play more centrally. He’s been too often dragged over to the left with Lallana in his central position. Down with that kind of thing Roy.
Elsewhere, Republic of Ireland are beating Holland 1-0. You can catch up with Paul Doyle for that one, and other international matches, here.
Half-time: England 1-0 Australia
Well, the Rashford goal aside, that was pretty lacklustre stuff. Australia were the more comfortable team on the ball while England, with the attacking players they have at their disposal, obviously looked the more dangerous side in offensive positions. But England should be able to control this match. They’re not. And that’s a pretty damning thing in itself. Australia are hardly renowned for their possession play. Ange Postecoglou will be the more satisfied manager after that half.
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45 min: Stones chests the ball back to Forster after MacLaren attempted to dink the ball in behind England’s defence. Yes, exciting this.
43 min: England really should be controlling this game better then they are doing. But instead they’re doing that very England thing of treating the ball like every passage of play is an emergency.
@GreggBakowski if England can't keep the ball against AUSTRALIA,that really doesn't bode well for the Euros
— Dr Daniel Chernilo (@danielchernilo) May 27, 2016
41 min: Bertrand takes a free-kick on the right. He shapes to cross but instead plays a disguised pass to Henderson lurking on the edge of the box. His shot is curled towards the top-left corner with a bit of pace but it’s an easy stop for Ryan, who pushes it over. The crowd got a little more excited about that than they should have done.
39 min: Rashford skips past Risdon on the left but his touch is too heavy as he makes for the byline and it’s a goal-kick. He’s had a quiet 10 minutes.
38 min: Mooy is booked for a tackle on Bertrand that is so clumsy it could be a scene in a Laurel and Hardy film. England win a corner. Nope. Nothing doing.
34 min: Wilshere flickers to life with a delicious little dinked ball in to Sterling after a give-and-go with Henderson on the edge of the box. Sterling is closed down very quickly by Ryan, though, and after rescuing the ball the England winger’s low cross is cut out before it can reach Rashford. Australia break and Rogic has another shot. Another tame one. But they’ve shown that they have enough about them to catch England out unless Hodgson’s side can raise their game. So far, they’ve struggled to do that.
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33 min: This has been an odd performance from England. It’s very disjointed. Australia are crowding centre midfield so any chances England do create are coming via Bertrand and Clyne.
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31 min: Australia win two corners on the bounce. The second came about after Risdon whipped a lovely ball in from deep towards MacLaren, who was lurking behind Smalling. But England’s captain for the night headed over. Mooy whips the resulting corner in towards the penalty spot but they deal with it comfortably enough.
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29 min: Bertrand bustles his way past his marker and cuts the ball back to Rashford. He could shoot but instead he stabs a clever pass through to Lallana. He looks offside as he swivels in the box, six yards from goal, but the flag stays down and as he turns to shoot Ryan is all up in his grill and smothers his shot.
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28 min: Wilshere has dropped a bit deeper to pick up the ball and try to act as England’s metronome. He’s certainly got the ability to do that job.
25 min: Australia are knocking the ball around for fun here. They are bossing possession. A lovely sweeping passing move from Rogic and Smith results in a cross to MacLaren but his shot is blocked well by Smalling. England are playing like an away European side. They need to raise their game here.
22 min: England have been stung into a little passing spell of their own by Australia’s ball-hogging of the past few minutes. Lallana and Sterling combine nicely and then the ball is worked out to Bertrand on the left, who nutmegs Risdon and is blocked as he looks to run on to the ball. Free-kick. Where’s Harry Kane when you need him? Bertrand whips it in. It’s half-cleared to Henderson. He attempts a shot from 20 yards but it’s so lacking in belief it may as well be classed as atheist.
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20 min: Australia are having a decent spell of possession here. Jedinak stitching things together nicely deep in midfield. Risdon finally fizzes a pass in towards Rogic but he’s got Smalling for company and England clear. This is impressive from Australia.
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17 min: Rogic has a pop with his left foot from 20 yards. It’s not much of a pop, dragged harmlessly wide. Still, a shot’s a shot. He’s looked bright for Australia.
15 min: Australia’s defence looks a little ropey here. Like an aged heavyweight, they don’t like being moved from side to side.
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13 min: Wilshere drives out with the ball and finds Sterling, who has Rashford scampering up inside him. Sterling nutmegs his marker to set Rashford free but he gets the ball stuck under his feet as he tries to get it on to his right foot and then struggles to get it back under control and watches it squirt away from him under pressure from Smith. It can’t all be fairy-dust and dreams you know.
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12 min: Australia win a free-kick in a dangerous position on the left, around 30 yards from goal after Smalling had clipped Kruse’s heels. It’s curled in but England defend it comfortably would you believe. And then they break …
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10 min: Henderson, Sterling and Clyne combine to create a crossing opportunity for the Liverpool full-back but Clyne’s cross is deflected into the arms of Ryan and the danger is over. Meanwhile …
@GreggBakowski Wythenshawe has an E on the end! Our local parkrun laptop has a sticker on that misses it off too. Flippin' Southerners...
— Alan Lamb (@AlanLamb712) May 27, 2016
A Southerner? That hurts.
8 min: Rashford’s movement has been incredibly slick so far. He’s always looking to gain an advantage and spring in behind the Australia defence. England are on top, as you would imagine. Given their shakiness at the back, England will want to remain on top.
7 min: I think Rashford’s earned this at the very least.
For any Panini-philes out there miffed at a lack of Rashford in the Euro 2016 album - here you go. @GreggBakowski pic.twitter.com/Nbt6JYDoKS
— Panini Cheapskates (@CheapPanini) May 27, 2016
5 min: What a fantastically confident finish by Rashford. This is his 19th senior game. 19th! Incredible. I should add that just before that wonderfully instinctive finish, England almost suffered a defensive calamity that would have given this game a very different feel from an England perspective. Smalling played an undercooked backpass to Forster, who took an age to get the ball out of his feet and hammered a clearance into MacLaren’s backside inside the penalty area. Thankfully for the Southampton goalkeeper, the ball came straight back to him.
Goal! England 1-0 Australia (Rashford 3)
It had to be him. Rashford is the youngest player ever to score on his debut for England. What a lovely finish too. Sterling’s cross is cut out, the ball spins into the air and Rashford’s eyes light up. He runs onto it, eight yards out, and drives a volley past Ryan and races off before being mobbed by his team-mates. Not bad him.
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Peep!
1 min: We’re off! England, in red, are shooting from left to right on my box. Australia, in gold, the other way. They make a decent start too, making inroads down the right with Risdon, but his cross is cut out by Bertrand.
The Australia anthem is sung loud by an 8,000 strong contingent of Australians at the match. I expect Shepherd’s Bush is quiet tonight. Then the English national anthem is belted out. There’s a really loud singer among the England team. A really bad singer too. Completely out of tune.
@GreggBakowski Well we've established that our lads need some serious choir practice...
— Hubert O'Hearn (@BTBReviews) May 27, 2016
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The teams are emerging from the tunnel. Mile Jedinak, sporting a magnificent beard, leads Australia out into a noisy and packed Stadium of Light. Chris Smalling, with barely a whisker on his face, heads up the England team as they stride out.
Patrick Sweeney isn’t impressed. “Surely at this stage we should be playing something close to our strongest 11, with some ‘tinkering’ to see if players like Rashford can fit in and perform. We don’t learn anything of use to the Tournament with this B team run out.”
Roy Hodgson has popped up with this to say about Marcus Rashford: “We wouldn’t have selected him if he was not ready. All we can do is give him the opportunity and wish him the best. He’s not been fazed by some big games for Manchester United. He has enormous pace. He’s very direct. He’s very good at making runs behind defenders. He’s got good technique. He’s young. He’s got a lot to learn but everyone starts somewhere.”
There should be a fair bit of movement among the England front three tonight. Both Sterling and Lallana like to roam. Rashford could really benefit from their tendency to drag defenders around and create pockets of space that he’s well equipped to exploit.
“I would admire a manager such as Hodgson more if he created a team from the likes of those unfancied yet very English players like Cattermole and Nolan who never get a sniff because there are so many startlingly consistent worldbeaters in English colours such as Hendo, Lallana, Wilshire, etc,” offers Ian Copestake. Wasn’t that why the England B team used to exist? Or was that because the pool of top-flight English players used to be so much bigger. The last time England B played was 2007, that’s quite some time ago. David James would quite like to see the return of the Bs.
“I think Cattermole was at his footballing peak at age eight,” offers Mike MacKenzie. Can you imagine the fear among the under-9 opponents as he romped round the playing fields of Teesside like a deranged miniature bull?
England are wearing red tonight because white clashes with yello … oh! They need to flog some kits don’t they?
Any England Under-21 fans out there? Anyone? Oh come on! The children are our future. Anyway, here’s a story about Gareth Southgate’s side making it to the final of the Toulon tournament for the first time in in 22 years after a 1-0 win over Japan.
Raymond Reardon has a lot of questions: “Will tonight’s International between England and Australia be Wayne Rooney’s last game for England coming 13 (thirteen) years after coming off the bench in his first ever international for England as a freckle faced 17-year-old? Could tonight’s match mirror Rooney’s – now a full-faced 30-year-old – first ever international for England when England were beaten by Australia 1-3 at Upton Park in February 2003? If England are being beaten comprehensively at half-time, as they were in 2003, will Roy Hodgson do a Sven Goran Eriksson surrender and change the whole 11 players at half-time?” Erm. Probably not. He’ll not want to taint the rest of them before the Euros. Your email does make me wonder how Rooney is still only 30? And the fact this is at Sunderland reminds me of another player who it feels should be about 40-odd but isn’t. Mr Lee Cattermole. He’s only just turned 28. Somehow, he’s at his footballing peak.
Here’s Ian Copestake: “Though I have never suffered from them myself I can understand Cahill having to withdraw as Chinese Super League commitments can be really painful.” I’ve heard they can really chafe Ian. He should get some cream at the very least.
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You may have noticed in that team news below that Daniel Sturridge is injured again. The Liverpool striker has strained a calf muscle, so he could be out for five days or five years. Who knows?
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Evening/G’day.
First things first, here are the teams:
England: Forster, Clyne, Smalling, Stones, Bertrand, Wilshere, Drinkwater, Henderson, Sterling, Rashford, Lallana. Subs: Walker, Heaton, Milner, Dier, Townsend, Kane, Rooney, Alli, Rose, Barkley, Hart.
Australia: Ryan, Risdon, Wright, Milligan, Smith, Jedinak, Mooy, Luongo, Rogic, Kruse, Maclaren. Subs: Birighitti, Behich, Inman, Mauk, Juric, Oikonomidis, McKay, Goodwin, Degenek, Wilkinson, Irvine, Federici.
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Holland
And here’s a preamble: England’s pre-Euro 2016 roadshow makes it up to the north-east, where all eyes will be on Marcus Rashford at the Stadium of Light. The 18-year-old, who made his Manchester United debut just 92 days ago, will start. Go on Roy, you risky old swine you. He’s also a crafty old swine – because everyone is talking about Rashford while almost no one is talking about England’s suspect and mighty light defence. Given that Hodgson has to name his slimmed-down squad before England play again it’s fair to say there’s a wee bit of pressure on the teenager to show what he can do. But he’s an 18-year-old lad from Wythenshaw. He’ll be powered-up on cocky swagger. And that’s a very good thing. There are fewer finer sights in football than when a teenager arrives on the big stage playing with the same kind of insouciance they displayed when they were knocking a ball around on their estate. Dele Alli has that about him too. And Ross Barkley (maybe too much, actually).
This preamble can’t really continue without mention of that match in 2003 when England were handed their backsides by Australia at Upton Park by Paul Okon, Scott Chipperfield et al. Oh Chippers. I loved the way he would crop up in Champions League matches for Basel down the years, draining lauded players from big clubs with his huge lung capacity and leggy runs. Anyway, the real question is: could Australia do such a thing to England tonight? Probably not. But it wouldn’t be a great look for Hodgson to wear before England’s final Euro 2016 warm-up at Wembley against Portugal. England have a changed team too. Their defence could suffer under aerial pressure, or any pressure for that matter. At times they can become a ragged bunch on the second ball, so a little aerial bombardment from the Socceroos could be incredibly effective. There’ll be no aerial battle of the Cahills though. Gary Cahill is nursing an injury and Tim Cahill has Chinese Super League commitments. Ah well.
But, like the Turkey game, we may get another well-contested friendly here. Mile Jedinak has said he wants to let off steam after the FA Cup final defeat. So any England players who are already assured of their place on the train to France may want to avoid allowing Jedinak to let off steam all over their shins. Ange Postecoglou, the Australia coach, seems pretty fired up too. “I don’t want to play this underdog crap, I’ve been over that for a while,” he said when asked if his side could provide another upset. “I don’t really care what other people think, I’ve always said that. At the end of the day it’s really about us and we want to play our football against a good opponent - whether other people like it or don’t like it is pretty irrelevant to be honest.”
Well that’s enough preambling. Here’s a picture of Roy.
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