Slovenia v England: How the players rated in Ljubljana
By Phil McNulty Chief football writer in Ljubljana England maintained their 100% record in Euro 2016 qualifying with victory over Slovenia on Sunday but it was a mixed bag in terms of individual performances.
Captain Wayne Rooney joined Gary Lineker on 48 England goals after scoring the late winner in Ljubljana.
Midfielder Jack Wilshere caught the eye with two superb goals, but England also conceded two sloppy goals at the back.
So how did England's players fare overall? Chief football writer Phil McNulty runs the rule over the players on duty in Slovenia.
Joe Hart (goalkeeper) 6
Could do nothing about either Slovenia goal but will have had a stressful 90 minutes behind a nervous defence.
Phil Jones (right-back) 3
Farcical throw-in led to Slovenia's goal. Not a right-back and on recent evidence not an international either.
Kieran Gibbs (left-back) 5
Some neat moves going forward but was beaten in the air when Nejc Pecnik header in Slovenia's second goal.
Gary Cahill (centre-back) 5
Not convincing and does not play with the same assurance as he does for his club with John Terry alongside him.
Chris Smalling (centre-back) 5
Falls into the same category as Cahill and still looks like he would be troubled by strikers of the highest international class.
Jordan Henderson (midfielder) 6
Poor in midfield but gave it his best shot in an unaccustomed right-back position. Played his part in the second goal.
Jack Wilshere (midfielder) 9
Star man. Busy and dynamic with two goals to gloss an outstanding display. Can this kick-start his England career?
Fabian Delph (midfielder) 5
Busy in midfield without making a serious impact.
Raheem Sterling (forward) 7
Missed an easy early chance but was otherwise a real threat. Good performance.
Wayne Rooney (forward) 7
Finishing not at its best but kept going in the face of heavy physical punishment and delivered for England again with the winner.
Andros Townsend (forward) 5
Had an involvement in the build-up to Wilshere's second goal but otherwise very quiet.
Substitutes
Adam Lallana (for Jones, 45 minutes) 7
Excellent. Involved in the first two goals and added industry and creativity to midfield.
Theo Walcott (for Townsend, 74 minutes) 5
Barely had time to get into the game - indirect involvement in Rooney's winner.
Nathaniel Clyne (for Delph, 90 minutes) No rating
Not on the pitch long enough to warrant a rating.
No comments:
Post a Comment