MY ACCOUNT
Full debutant Ollie Watkins, Raheem Sterling and Tyrone Mings all scored as England beat 10-man Ivory Coast 3-0 at Wembley.
Watkins opened the scoring with his second goal in a Three Lions shirt, tapping into an empty net from close range after Raheem Sterling beat Serge Aurier and rolled a low cross through Eric Bailly’s legs.
Five minutes before the break, Ivory Coast were reduced to 10 men as Aurier received a second yellow card for dissent, and England captialised soon after.
Sterling drove through the middle and his initial shot from just inside the area was saved, but Jack Grealish cut the rebound back for his Manchester City team-mate to slot home.
Mings rounded off the scoring late on, heading home from substitute Phil Foden’s inswinging corner kick.
LiveScore takes a look at five talking points from the Three Lions’ comfortable victory.
An inverted right-back experiment
Gareth Southgate stuck with three central defenders, but changed shape from the back three he deployed against Switzerland, utilising Ben White as an inverted right-back in a back four.
The Gunners defender played a similar role to the one Takehiro Tomiyasu performs next to him at Arsenal, tucking in centrally to provide security and an extra passing option rather than making overlapping runs.
White was replaced by natural full-back Kyle Walker-Peters at half-time, however, and it will be interesting to see whether Southgate uses this tactical set-up again, having switched between a three-man and a four-man defence throughout qualifying.
Maguire’s return
Harry Maguire made his return to the England starting line-up tonight, having been left on the bench against Switzerland.
The centre-back has endured a difficult campaign with Manchester United, but picked up where he left off with England after a fine Euro 2020 campaign with the Three Lions.
Maguire was not unduly tested defensively, but also looked composed in possession and was accurate with his passing from deep.
For whatever reason, the defender seems to enjoy playing for his country more than his club.
Bellingham looks the part
On a night when Southampton’s set-piece specialist James Ward-Prowse was afforded a rare chance to stake his claim in midfield, Jude Bellingham stole the show.
The teenager was bright in possession, showing quick feet and regularly driving into the box or making forward runs off the ball.
One such move led to a shot that Ivory Coast goalkeeper Badra Ali Sangare deflected onto the post, while another saw the referee award a penalty, although the decision was correctly overturned following a VAR review.
Bellingham catches the eye almost every time he takes to the field for the Three Lions and, at only 18, is an exceptionally exciting prospect.
Sterling the skipper
In the absence of Harry Kane, Sterling was handed the captain’s armband and the forward delivered a captain’s performance.
His speed, positivity and dribbling ability created the first goal almost out of nothing, and he displayed those qualities again to net the second himself.
The City star started nominally on the right, but was given license to roam from his position, notching his assist from the left and driving through the middle for his goal.
Southgate will certainly be hoping Sterling carries this form with him to Qatar.
Watkins’ audition
Watkins’ first England start produced a goal, so it seems strange to suggest that he perhaps could have done more to make his case for the spot as Kane’s deputy this winter.
However, the Aston Villa striker was quiet aside from his strike — his only shot in just over an hour — and was hardly involved in build-up play.
A trademark of Kane’s game is his propensity to drop deep and link up with his team-mates, and if Southgate is looking for a back-up who can perform the same role, Watkins did little tonight to suggest he is capable of being that kind of centre-forward.
