This was a useful England friendly. Depleted by mid-season twangs, degraded by a frustrating red card for Serge Aurier – who’s still got it – and limited as a contest by the poverty of this Ivory Coast team; but there was good stuff here too, and a sense of two vital cogs in the Southgate universe clunking into place.
One thing does seem certain after another controlled Wembley win. This is how it’s going to go down. The shape, the pegs, the architecture of this team is set. We’re going to play this out to the end.
