GARETH SOUTHGATE should be brave and play Declan Rice as our sole holding midfielder.
But if England manager Southgate doesn’t want to do that — and he probably doesn’t — then he needs to give Rice the chance to play more like he does for Arsenal.
RexDeclan Rice can be England’s sole holding midfielder[/caption]
Darren FletcherJack Wilshere says England look well short of going all the way to the final[/caption]
Let’s be absolutely clear here. Rice was so important for us again during that first half against Denmark.
The fact that he had a difficult second 45 minutes showed how much England were struggling.
Rice himself would hold his hands up and say he gave away the ball too often.
But what I took overall from his performance is that he needs more help in the engine room.
He needs England to have a better structure, a better game plan, so that he does not have to use so much time and energy trying to tidy up a messy performance like this.
Rice does that job — brilliantly. That’s why I think he could anchor the whole team on his own.
With Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden playing centrally ahead of him, that would put England and Rice on the front foot, higher up the pitch and playing to our strengths.
Bellingham had showed in the opening game against Serbia last Sunday that he can drop in as an extra defensive midfielder when England don’t have possession.
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But if Gareth is unwilling to take that risk, then Conor Gallagher should have the chance against Slovenia to stake his claim to be Rice’s partner.
Of course, by not having Trent Alexander-Arnold in there, you will lose something in possession — in theory, at least, because England were really poor with the ball against Denmark even while Trent was on the pitch.
What Gallagher brings is energy and the ability to jump out in the press, break up play higher up the pitch.
He wasn’t perfect after he came on and gave the ball away a few times. But his booking — England’s first yellow card of the tournament — showed the kind of aggression that had been missing and we were at least better out of possession.
Having someone like Gallagher alongside him should give Rice the freedom to make the forward runs that he does for Arsenal.
There’s a reason why last season was his best ever for scoring goals and making assists.
He could do that for England, too. Versus Denmark, though, his main job was trying to hold together a pretty ragged England performance.
The first problem was giving the ball away. That’s not a tactical thing, that’s not a coach thing.
I don’t know whether the England players were nervous or what the reason was. It’s also strange that we have taken the lead in both games so far, yet instead of it settling us down and giving us the confidence to play, we have failed to take control.
But what was most worrying was that Denmark had a clear way of playing — while we didn’t.
They were pressing high, trying to win the ball and forcing mistakes.
Although an individual error led to their equaliser, it had been coming.
We didn’t seem to know what to do about it. We were sitting too deep.
Sometimes Harry Kane and Bellingham pressed but the midfield didn’t back it up.
The distances between the England players were just too big.
Denmark are a good team and they were passing the ball around us.
Christian Eriksen was finding so much space in that pocket for the Danes, like we wanted Foden and Bellingham to do for us.
Rice was everywhere in the first half. He had to be. Making big tackles, winning important headers, always in the right place at the right time to make an interception.
He is constantly talking, too, encouraging or demanding more — but even he was feeling it in the second half,
There’s been a lot of chat about how to bring the best out of England’s attacking players like Foden.
But I believe getting even more out of Rice is also crucial to our chances of doing something special at this tournament.
Right now, we look well short.
ENGLAND vs DENMARK RATINGS
ENGLAND stumbled to a drab 1-1 draw with Denmark.
Here’s how SunSport’s Tom Barclay rated the Three Lions team.
Jordan Pickford: 6
Looked a little jittery early doors, though there was nothing he could do about Morten Hjulmand’s corker and he made a decent parry after the break.
Kyle Walker: 7
Made England’s opener by racing round a sleeping Victor Kristiansen – he’ll be having nightmares of that forevermore – and teeing up Kane via a deflected cross.
John Stones: 6
OK but you have got to wonder how fit he feels having barely played for Man City in the second half of the season, plus his injury and illness issues over the last month.
Marc Guehi: 8 and my star man
Really encouraging again from the Crystal Palace centre-back, looking sharp with his interceptions and assured in distribution.
Kieran Trippier: 6
Like Stones, he was fine, but England really need Luke Shaw back ASAP because having no natural left-footer at left-back is a problem.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 5
This experiment of playing Trent in midfield is far from convincing, especially when his passing was off it like it was here, barring one good ball to Saka. Subbed on 54 minutes.
Declan Rice: 5
Had to cover so much ground as England dropped worryingly deep in the first half and also lost it a few times in front of his back four.
Bukayo Saka: 7
Not quite as electric as his first half against Serbia, but another solid showing from our right winger who has been our most consistent attacker across the two games.
Jude Bellingham: 6
Nowhere near the majestic display he put in against Serbia and one of many who looked tired.
Phil Foden: 7
Was far more involved than against Serbia – although that was not hard – and had a few dangerous efforts from range, including one that smacked the post after the break.
Harry Kane: 6
Netted his 64th goal for his country with an opener he could not really miss, but then gave the ball away from Denmark’s leveller. Surprisingly subbed.
SUBS:
Conor Gallagher (on for Trent, 54): 7
Vital clearance on the stretch when Christian Eriksen was lurking and was not afraid to put his foot in.
Ollie Watkins (on for Kane, 70): 6
Played in by Bellingham’s lovely ball after coming on but could not finish from an acute angle.
Jarrod Bowen (on for Foden, 69): 6
Copped a nasty tackle which saw Joakim Maehle booked.
Eberechi Eze (on for Saka, 69): 6
On for his tournament bow though he was rarely involved.