One pass was all it took. Eleven minutes in to England’s 2-0 win in Ireland on Saturday, Trent Alexander-Arnold picked up the ball about 15 yards outside his own penalty area. He saw Anthony Gordon making a run behind the Ireland defence from the left and drilled a perfectly weighted 60-yard pass for him. Although Gordon was thwarted by the Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher, and Harry Kane had an effort blocked as the ball was returned to the middle, Declan Rice then smacked in the loose ball to give England a 1-0 lead.
Immediately, social media was aflame. This was what England had been missing. This was what might have happened had Gareth Southgate not been so obsessed with picking Kyle Walker. This was what happened when you took the handbrake off. Quarter of an hour later, a rat-a-tat of passes through the Ireland defence led to Jack Grealish, who had been left out of England’s squad for the Euros, sweeping in a fine second. Again the outcry, less in support of England’s interim manager, Lee Carsley, than against Southgate, his predecessor.
