It was the first time Gareth Southgate had been England’s unlikely axeman by culling three attacking talents for about three weeks. If, at least, Marcus Rashford, James Maddison and Jack Grealish discovered on different days that they had not made the cut for Euro 2024, a trio at the front of the pecking order saw their numbers come up together. Unlike Rashford and Grealish, they had no warning.
Exit Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden when England needed a goal. The men taken off were England’s record scorer, their reigning player of the year and England’s new Footballer of the Year. It may have been the most dramatic triple substitution of the Southgate years. The surprise in a draw with Denmark was not simply how bad England were, but who finished the game in the attack: Jarrod Bowen, Ollie Watkins and Eberechi Eze could have comprised a serviceable but unexceptional mid-table Premier League forward line, at least until each had a breakthrough season.
