Here’s Daniel Taylor’s match report from Wembley, which is my parting gift. Bye!
Marcus Rashford does a little talking:
I think it was an important goal today. We started a bit slow as a team and me on a personal note, but we got it together. I think you’ve just got to get back to basics and do what you’ve been taught and what you’ve been working on all week. I think it’s just working your way into the game. It’s important that you start fast and if you don’t you pay for it.
And so does Eric Dier:
It wasn’t so good to begin with but it got better. It’s a fantastic show of character [from Rashford] to make a mistake for them to score and then come back and score the winner. It was really, really important. We needed the win today to get us closer to the World Cup. It was difficult. We started the game really poorly as a team, but to bounce back, regain our composure and go on to win was fantastic.
World-beaters! If only England could work out how to take their form from home games against also-rans into neutral matches against the world’s finest, there’d be no stopping them.
Longest home winning run in WC/EURO qualifying among UEFA sides:
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) September 4, 2017
23 - Soviet Union ('57-'89)
16 - Spain ('92-'05)
13 - @England ('12- )
Final score: England 2-1 Slovakia
Not exactly whelming from England, but once the dreadful first half-hour was done with, good enough.
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90+3 mins: England’s final substitution sees Jake Livermore come on for Dele Alli.
90+2 mins: Sterling dances into the area, ghosts past a defender, reaches the byline and tries to pull back to Kane, but it’s intercepted. It’s been a fine little cameo from Sterling, though.
90+2 mins: Which is played short and within moments is being passed around the defence.
90+1 mins: Eventually they completely run out of ideas, give it away and Raheem Sterling runs down the other end and wins a corner.
90+1 mins: There will be three minutes of second-half stoppage time, which starts with Slovakia once again in possession and wondering what to do with it.
87 mins: Slovakia are having a late second wind, passing the ball around the back, down the right and then back to the middle, where Durica attempts the most ludicrous of 45-yard shots.
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85 mins: Sterling runs from midfield to the edge of the area, from where he shoots at the goalkeeper.
83 mins: Rashford’s also leaving the field, Danny Welbeck coming on. He receives a standing ovation, which you wouldn’t have expected after 25 minutes but is, in the end, deserved.
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82 mins: England bring Sterling on for Oxlade-Chamberlain. “On the subject of Rashford’s potential, it’s most definitely his finishing that he needs to work on,” writes David Wall. “He’s so often one-on-one with the goalkeeper for United but given the number of chances he has his scoring record has been pretty ordinary. It’s a little surprising given that when he initially got into their side, in the second half of Van Gaal last season, it was his finishing that stood out.”
82 mins: Walker picks out Kane in the area, but he shoots straight into the foot of the nearest defender.
81 mins: Oxlade-Chamberlain runs down the right well, then runs into the middle badly – Slovakia let him have it as long as he’s on his left foot, and eventually he hits a rubbish left-footed shot.
80 mins: Meanwhile it’s now Germany 6-0 Norway.
79 mins: Slovakia have now taken off all their best players, with Hamsik the latest to leave the field. Ondrej Duda comes on.
75 mins: Slovakia have a spell of possession, but achieve nothing with it. Alli wins it back and England spring forward, and at the end of the break Oxlade-Chamberlain chips towards Alli in the box, and he tries to leave the ball and spin onto it only for a defender to get there first.
72 mins: The official attendance is 67,823. They get to watch Dier become the second player to be booked, the lucky blighters.
71 mins: It was a little too far out to be really shootable, but Rashford had a go anyway. The shot was terrible.
70 mins: And a first booking: Skriniar fouls Alli 30 yards out, and the referee doesn’t like it.
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68 mins: The first substitutions of the night see Weiss and Nemev removed, and Albert Rusnak and Michal Duris replace them.
66 mins: Rashford screams down the left and is taken out by Skriniar. The referee waves play on, and after Walker’s let-off in the first half England can’t really complain.
In the long term, Rashford should play Number 10 - he has fantastic balance and can go either way. Potential world class @Simon_Burnton
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) September 4, 2017
I agree his potential is dizzying. He has pace, he can finish, has skill and vision; I thought his assist for Kane’s goal against Malta was just superb. I’m not sure he should be taking corners though.
64 mins: Chance for Slovakia! A free-kick from deep on the right is speared into the area and drops to Hubocan, whose volley from a promising position bounces into the ground and ends up both high and wide.
63 mins: And almost another assist: he makes a run into the area from the left and is picked out by Dier, whose high pass is a little overhit. Rashford improvises a back-header to Alli, whose shot is deflected into Dubravka’s arms.
@Simon_Burnton...it is well known that during his Norwich career Peter "pointer" Grant had more points than touches pic.twitter.com/Y182cFOUeK
— Chris Rose (@bigronrose) September 4, 2017
@Simon_Burnton Robbie Keane is worth a mention as a pointer. During his 2nd spell at Spurs he gained the nickname ‘Pointy Shouty Man’.
— Nezza (@nezza) September 4, 2017
62 mins: Rashford was perhaps England’s worst player in the first half-hour, and responsible for Slovakia’s goal to boot. He’s now got a goal and an assist.
GOAL! England 2-1 Slovakia (Rashford, 59 mins)
Thats an excellent shot from Rashford! From 22 yards he sends the ball spinning and dipping and bouncing across goal and in at the far post!
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58 mins: Alli has four players in front of him, with Oxlade-Chamberlain the freeest, but decides to batter the ball 30 yards over the bar.
57 mins: Kane has the ball on the right-hand side of the area, and he battles and bumbles goalwards before slamming the ball across goal, where Dubravka palms it straight to Alli, who has no time to react. Goal kick.
56 mins: Skrtel heads over from the corner.
55 mins: Hart saves a shot! It’s a fine break, and ends with Hamsik crossing from the left and Nemec chesting down and blasting a shot at the England goalkeeper.
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53 mins: Another fine move down the left, this one ending with a defender tackling Alli but sending the ball bobbling to Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose first-time shot is vicious but saved. England are now 6-1 up on shots on target.
52 mins: Much better from England, who ping the ball about in tight spaces on the left before Rashford takes control, beats a man, runs into the area and crosses straight to Dubravka.
50 mins: Oxlade-Chamberlain has switched to the right at the interval, and has already delivered one decent low cross and a left-footed shot that deflected into the goalkeeper’s arms.
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47 mins: An early chance for England! Alli gets the ball back from Rashford – a lovely backheel flick – but his shot deflects to Henderson, whose left-footed first-time effort is a bit rubbish.
46 mins: Dele Alli gets the second half under way.
The players are back out. Another 45 minutes of who-knows-what to come.
Decision making poor. Tempo poor. Passing poor. All need to improve massively in the 2nd half. On the plus side we are drawing! #ENGSLV
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) September 4, 2017
That is good pointing, to be fair.
@Simon_Burnton Two minutes on Google, and here you go - he can even do it shirtless! pic.twitter.com/zBHuLNw7He
— Nick Payne (@N1ckPayne) September 4, 2017
“Somehow England have ended up with the exact opposite of the Lampard/Gerrard problem,” writes David Flynn. “This time they’ve stumbled across a midfield duo who are too disciplined and won’t go forward enough. It’s that disconnect between the front four and the holding two where England’s play is falling to pieces.” The midfield was an absolute mess in the opening half-hour, sure enough. I think the players are capable enough, and were only doing what they were told. They just needed to be told something better.
That’s certainly some good pointing, but anyone can do a one-off double-point. I don’t think Flamini rivalled Flamini for consistency.
@Simon_Burnton On the pointing front, Carlton Palmer was indeed extremely talented, but Mathieu Flamini was truly a master of the art pic.twitter.com/YPhLHPROLf
— Nick Payne (@N1ckPayne) September 4, 2017
Half time: England 1-1 Slovakia
45+2 mins: It’s certainly been eventful, but it is, for now, over.
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45+1 mins: A chance for Slovakia! Cahill misses the ball 35 yards out and suddenly Weiss has the ball at his feet and just grass and a goal in front of him! He sets off, but just before he reaches the penalty area Walker arrives to kick him in the ankle. Fortunately for England the referee sees the ball change direction and assumes the defender must have kicked it.
45+1 mins: Into stoppage time we roll, and there’ll only be one minute of it.
44 mins: It’s been all England since the goal. Rashford tries his luck from 25 yards, and it would have crept in at the near post had Dubravka not pushed it wide.
42 mins: Bertrand stings Dubravka’s palms with a drive from just outside the are. It was straight at the goalkeeper, but it was travelling.
40 mins: The ball absolutely flew over the head of the helpless defender on the post and into the roof of the net, in the most eye-catching manner. I think, though, that it is a finish that will look worse and worse the more you see it (though so far as I can tell I’m the only person who believes it was wildly flukey).
GOAL! England 1-1 Slovakia (Dier, 38 mins)
They score from the corner! Rashford surely mishit the centre, which bounced before the near post, but Dier ran forward to meet it, swung a leg and sent it rocketing into the top corner (off, I think, his calf rather than his boot)!
Updated
37 mins: Rashford plays in Kane, Jan Durica dived in, and Kane stays standing. I think the defender got the ball, but there was penalty potential there. They end up with a corner instead.
36 mins: A bit of a break while Adam Nemec is treated for some minor ankle thingy.
@Simon_Burnton Henderson is a Lollaper and a Pointer
— Paul Howarth (@TOOFEE) September 4, 2017
Carlton Palmer is absolutely the finest pointer I’ve ever witnessed in action. There was nowhere that man couldn’t point.
33 mins: Lobotka gives the ball away in midfield and Alli passes to Rashford, who drags his left-footed shot wide from just inside the area. The jet-heeled forward doesn’t seem to be having his finest evening. “England being outplayed again. No creativity. Workmanlike is the best you can say about them,” rages Mike Nagle. “Get Hoddle down from the commentary box & give him some boots. Even at 50+ he would be better than any of those midfielders!” It would have the added benefit of removing him from the commentary box.
29 mins: Walker wins the ball, carries it into Slovakia’s half, weighs up the three options ahead of him and passes to a Slovakian. “Meanwhile over in Germany they’re 3-0 up against Norway after 20 minutes,” writes Charles Antaki. “Even though I know nothing of the language, the commentators on the broadcast I’m watching sound utterly, utterly smug.” As well they might be.
27 mins: England win a corner, huff and puff around the edge of the area for a bit, and then win another corner. Rashford is taking them from both flanks, but is yet to really get one right, despite quite a lot of practice.
25 mins: A high ball to the far post finds Alli, who accidentally side-faces it into Bertrand’s arm. Comedy gold. And also a free kick.
English midfielders have absolutely zero idea of where they should be, and move. Embarrassing.
— Philippe Auclair (@PhilippeAuclair) September 4, 2017
23 mins: Hamsik, Weiss and Lobotka are tying England’s midfield into all sorts of knots at the moment. “Are we sure the “ticketing mayhem” outside is not just late England punters looking for a pre-emptive refund?” wonders Justin Kavanagh.
21 mins: Oxlade-Chamberlin wins the ball from Weiss, takes it past the Slovakian on the half-way line and bursts forward, with Kane and Alli for company. So far, so good. As he reaches the penalty area, though, he spoons a ludicrous shot way over the bar.
19 mins: This might go some way to explaining the number of empty seats:
@Simon_Burnton absolute ticketing mayhem outside... thousands of people still in queues. Many still trying to get pick up tickets printed.
— Yeastie Boys (@yeastieboys) September 4, 2017
18 mins: That’s (a bit) better. Henderson finds Rashford on the right, but his cross is into lots of space but well behind Alli, who nevertheless controls and shoots. It’s deflected wide, and Rashford overhits the corner straight out of play.
Updated
16 mins: And from the corner, chaos. The ball drops in the box, pingpongs around a bit, lands at the feet of Kane and sticks there for a while until he falls over and a defender boots it behind. The second corner yields little.
15 mins: Kane receives the ball, ignores Alli and has an optimistic left-footed drive deflected wide.
England again cleverly allowing their opponents to tire themselves out
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) September 4, 2017
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14 mins: Slovakia are playing superbly thus far, and are still doing the more convincing attacking.
12 mins: Scotland are 1-0 up against Malta, but England aren’t doing them any favours.
Slovakia's goal (3') was the fastest conceded goal for @England in a competitive match since San Marino's goal (1') on 17 Nov 1993 #ENGSVK
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) September 4, 2017
10 mins: Weiss does some more good work on the right, but this time it’s he who gets penalised for fouling Bertrand.
@SimonBurnton Re 6 mins, I thought Ben Woodburn had been abducted by aliens. Well, sort of aliens.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) September 4, 2017
7 mins: The way Joe Hart managed to avoid getting in the way of Lobotka’s shot despite being basically on top of the Slovakian when he took it was, in its way, quite inspirational.
Stanislav Lobotka is the first visiting player to score at @England in a WC/EURO qualifier since Dejan Damjanovic on 11 Oct 2013 #ENGSVK
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) September 4, 2017
6 mins: Glenn Hoddle’s expert analysis of Slovakia’s goal: “That’s the worst possible start for England.” Consider the obvious well and truly stated, though strictly speaking the English could also have had a player sent off and/or abducted by aliens.
5 mins: Rashford then has England’s first shot, bursting from right to left, cutting back onto his right foot and then shooting low from the edge of the area, but straight at Martin Dubravka.
GOAL! England 0-1 Slovakia (Lobotka, 3 mins)
Rashford gives the ball away just outside his area, and a chipped pass later Lobotka is in to control and shot left-footed just between Hart’s body and his left arm!
Updated
3 mins: Weiss spins his way past Bertrand, falls over and wins a free-kick. Moments later he nutmegs Oxlade-Chamberlain.
2 mins: Into the second minute, and England are yet to touch the ball. Scratch that, Kyle Walker’s just intercepted it.
1 min: They’re off! Slovakia get proceedings under way, and are pinging the ball around their backline as I type.
The players are out, anthems have been sung, hands shaken, and we’re but a whistle away from kick-off.
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Crikey, there’s nobody there. And they were practically giving tickets away, or at least only charging a tenner. It’s not exactly a vote of confidence.
Emptiest Wembley has been for a competitive England game for a while pic.twitter.com/dyusc8ryrj
— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) September 4, 2017
The players are in the tunnel …
“Bad news for England, I’m afraid,” writes Paul Connelly. “It would be good for Scotland were England to win tonight. Of course, anything that would boost Scottish chances of qualifying for a tournament never happens. So I think the hex is firmly on England for this game.” If England lose, Scotland will have next to no chance of qualifying (they would need England also to lose their last two games, and to win against Malta tonight and against both Slovakia (h) and Slovenia (a) next month). If England win and the Scots beat Malta, they will be but a single point from second place.
Gareth Southgate has spoken!
Great opportunity for us. A chance to put ourselves in touching distance of the World Cup. It’s an exciting opportunity for us all. They have some good footballers in the middle of midfield. Hamsik we know is a quality player. They can keep possession of the ball. It’ll be a different sort of game to the other night but we’ll have more space in the middle of the park. We want to start well, make it difficult for Slovakia from start to finish. We always want to entertain. Clearly tonight we want to win, but winning is a consequence of performance and if we get the performance right then everything else usually takes care of itself.
I’m not sure why it is that England have been able to number their starting XI from 1 to, well, 11, while Slovakia’s players will wear numbers 23, 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 14, 15, 17, 20 and 22.
12 - England have won their last 12 competitive matches at Wembley, a run that stretches back to October 2012. Stronghold. pic.twitter.com/p64iX2Urx5
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 4, 2017
“England have played Slovakia three times in the last 15 months or so,” notes Graham Randall. “Three managers. One goal. Pretty much sums it up.”
I admire the technical wizardry that allows me to move the camera angle at will, but wish they had applied it to something more interesting than some people walking down a corridor.
🔄
— England (@England) September 4, 2017
Watch in 360 as the #ThreeLions arrive at @wembleystadium for tonight's game! pic.twitter.com/6WXx4MTrBa
@Simon_Burnton Giggs jacket is killing my TV
— Paul Howarth (@TOOFEE) September 4, 2017
I don’t mind it. It’s a little bit racehorse-owner, but to those who remember John Barnes’s punditry career it’s positively sedate.
Slovakia’s team has now been confirmed. So that’s good.
Slovakia’s team has not yet been confirmed by Uefa, but it looks very much like it will be this: Dubravka; Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Hubocan; Lobotka, Skriniar; Weiss, Hamsik, Mak; Nemec.
The teams! Well, one of them anyway!
As widely predicted, Marcus Rashford and Eric Dier are in the starting XI, which reads as follows: Hart, Walker, Bertrand, Cahill, Jones, Henderson, Dier, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alli, Rashford, Kane.
🚨 TEAM NEWS! 🚨
— England (@England) September 4, 2017
Two changes for the #ThreeLions as @MarcusRashford and @ericdier come into the side: pic.twitter.com/JPqcL4FuOG
Hello world!
So, this is big. Honest, it really is. Victory tonight won’t quite guarantee England’s presence in Russia next summer, but it would leave them on the precipice. On the very verge. Win by a margin of, say, three goals and Gareth Southgate’s side will pretty much be there but for some mathematics. Lose and they’ll be dumped into second place, and Southgate will instantly become the latest Steve McClarenesque flop (disappointingly there is no rain forecast tonight, so there’ll be no easy brolly-based headlines). Plus after toiling for so long against Malta this seems like a key moment not just in the chase for qualification, but in the battle to retain the support of a fanbase inured to, and already expecting at some miserable point now or in the near future, failure. Excited? You should be.
Simon will be along shortly. Here’s Daniel Taylor’s preview:
Gareth Southgate has addressed the dissatisfaction which surfaced among England fans during Friday’s win over Malta and described the suggestion his players are not proud to play for their country as “outrageous”.
The national team can take a significant step towards qualifying for next summer’s World Cup by beating Slovakia at Wembley on Monday, with 70,000 tickets sold for the meeting between the teams first and second in Group F.
Yet events in Ta’ Qali on Friday, when sections of England’s support made clear their disgust at the side’s sluggish performance and many left well before the final whistle, have prompted talk of a disconnect between fans and players given the side’s toils in recent years.
Harry Kane rejected the notion some players were indifferent to playing for their country, with Southgate echoing his striker’s sentiments.
“The notion the players aren’t proud to play is outrageous really,” the manager said. “They’re unbelievably proud to play for England. Yes, they might not play as well as they’d like to sometimes, not converting all their chances, but there’s no one not giving their 100%.
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