England beat their neighbours Scotland 3-0 via goals from Sturridge, Lallana, Cahill. Although they recorded their biggest win over their Scottish counterpart since may 1975 (via OptaJoe), they still produced a below par performance which would have saw them lose to a supposedly inferior opposition.
Unsurprisingly, England’s three goals came from headers and those were their only shots on target throughout the encounter. Against a team that have grabbed just four points from four games, The Three Lions were expected to create ample number of opportunities and have more than three shots on target against the underperforming Scottish team.
The players played without character and zeal save Adam Lallana who has shown impressive performances at his club Liverpool. Rooney and Sterling lacked the confidence upfront and couldn’t provide that cutting edge.
Though they were without a number of key players like Dele Alli, Vardy, Walcott. England can build their first XI with the players at their disposal but their coach would rather build a team based on past glory instead of consistency.
If England are to perform well in Russia 2018, they would need to step up and produce a unique performance. Gareth Southgate has to make sure no position in the team is secured and get the best of out his chosen soldiers.
By Okutue Emmanuel @OKUTUE
