Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Jacob Steinberg at Wembley

England player ratings: verdict from Nations League defeat against Greece

Konstantinos Mavropanos puts the ball past a sprawling Jordan Pickford for Greece before the goal is disallowed
Konstantinos Mavropanos puts the ball past a sprawling Jordan Pickford for Greece before the goal is disallowed. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

England 4-2-4

Jordan Pickford (GK) Spread panic with a horror moment in possession early on and continued to struggle. Had no chance with Greece’s goals. 4/10

Trent Alexander-Arnold (RB) Kept inverting but his positioning meant that Greece had space when they broke down the left. Passing was off too. 4

John Stones (CB) Captained the team in Harry Kane’s absence. Beaten by Vangelis Pavlidis for striker’s first. Lacking match sharpness. 4

Levi Colwill (CB) The centre-back made a heroic clearance after Pickford’s blunder. Followed it up with some important blocks and tackles. Busy night. 5

Rico Lewis (LB) Drifted inside and popped up in some good positions. Had his hands full defensively and got in a muddle before Pavlidis’s winner. 5

Declan Rice (CM) Forced to deal with too many runners because of England playing too many attacking players. Overwhelmed on a confusing night. 4

Cole Palmer (CM) Wasted in a deep role. Why make him defend? Greece walked through England. Palmer was also sleeping before Greece’s third disallowed goal. 4

Bukayo Saka (RW) Unable to get into the game and run at Dimitris Giannoulis. Arsenal fans will be fretting about their winger limping off. 5

Phil Foden (AM) Lost in a free role. Saw little of the ball and was careless when he had it. Remains an enigma. 4

Jude Bellingham (AM) Made a chance for Palmer but the experiment with him in an advanced role did not work. Scored undeserved equaliser. 5

Anthony Gordon (LW) Ineffective. Rarely beat his full-back and his end product was disappointing, although he did not have a target to hit. 4

Subs

Noni Madueke Quiet after replacing Saka. Soon moved to the left. 5

Ollie Watkins Shot just over with his first touch. Should have started. Set up Bellingham. 6

Dominic Solanke Replaced Foden as England ended with two strikers on the pitch. 6

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.