MINNOWS OF KOSOVO TEST ENGLAND.

Yesterday I watched England's footballing supermen take on the might of Kosovo. However, after reading and hearing some of the reviews in this morning's media, I wonder if I was actually watching the same match as others.

England were sloppy throughout. From the appalling strat, when Barkley and Keane combined to give goalkeeper Jordan Pickford no chance, to the end, England's defence looked shaky and their passing was frequently awful. In particular, I lost count of the number of times that Ross Barkley played the ball straight to an opponent and that Raheem Sterling failed to pass when that was clearly the best option.

Sterling has been hailed as some sort of superman, one of Sky's reporters even suggesting that he's the best player in the world, but to me he is far from that. Tricky and quick, yes, getting in good positions to score himself, yes, but when it comes to that final pass to a teammate, he's way off. He's very good at running with the ball but frequently finds himself running into a brick wall, at which point he seems to be devoid of ideas. Play stops abruptly while he tries to think of what to do next, and passing is furthest from his mind. He hangs on, looking for a way through for himself and is frequently oblivious to others in better positions. In contrast, Harry Kane always seems to be looking for the best placed player, even if that means that he misses opportunities for himself. 

England scored 5 times against this team of minnows who, to their immense credit, played an open and attacking game that brought them 3 goals in reply; England even lost the second half 0 - 2. In truth, England will not come up against many sides that will play in this way making the 5 goals in the 'for' column extreme flattery. As for the 3 against, if I was Gareth Southgate, I'd be more than a little concerned. When England find themselves taking on less naïve sides - Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, assorted South Americans et al - they won't be so fortunate. 

England have some good players. Kane, Maguire, Sancho, Henderson all did well, while Sterling was impressive up to that final decision-making moment. Chilwell and Alexander-Arnold did little wrong and neither did Rice or Pickford. Keane looked flaky and Barkley was pretty terrible. While the first 5 deserve to keep their places, is 'doing little wrong' enough ? As for Keane and Barkley, they should be toast.

Southgate has some decisions to make.