Harry Kane showed that sometimes he doesn’t even need to touch the ball to make a difference. England started their final Euro 2024 qualifier without their captain but as they were heading for a shock defeat to North Macedonia, they turned to him.
Kane managed to make an impact almost immediately, helping force Jani Atanasov to head into his own net as he tried to prevent the Bayern Munich striker from reaching a corner. It was a rare highlight in an otherwise drab performance from Gareth Southgate’s side in a dead rubber but at least England avoided defeat and finished the campaign unbeaten.
Ennis Bardhi had given the hosts the lead on the rebound after his penalty had been saved by Jordan Pickford but the spot-kick was a severe punishment for Rico Lewis, who was penalised by VAR for winning a header but accidently scraping his opponent with his hand in the process.
Jack Grealish looked to have equalised after a wonderful run by Bukayo Saka but he was ruled offside by VAR. In the end it fell to Kane to save England’s blushes and ensure they left Skopje with a dignified point.
90minsoccer rates England’s players from Tose Proeski Arena…
Jordan Pickford (6/10):
Did well to save Bardhi’s penalty and was unlucky with the rebound. Caused danger with his laser-like kicking.
Kyle Walker (6/10):
Focused primarily on defending in his first game as England captain.
Harry Maguire (4/10):
Solid overall but had his customary wobbly moment when he ceded possession and almost gave a penalty away.
Marc Guehi (6/10):
Barely put a foot wrong and made another case for a starting berth next summer.
Rico Lewis (6/10):
Had a fine debut and was desperately unlucky to concede a penalty for the crime of using his arms to head the ball away.
Midfield
Trent Alexander-Arnold (5/10):
Couldn’t create enough danger against an ostensibly weak opponent.
Declan Rice (6/10):
Gave England control and was a threat too, striking the post from long range.
Phil Foden (6/10):
Gave a few sprinklings of stardust but had no end product.
Attack
Bukayo Saka (7/10):
Always looked the most likely player to break open the hosts’ defence.
Ollie Watkins (5/10):
Couldn’t get on the end of any moves but needed better service against a rigid and deep-lying defence.
Jack Grealish (6/10):
Good movement and one of England’s best creators but his final ball was often lacking.
Subs & Manager
Harry Kane (6/10):
His mere presence in the box helped force the own goal.
Kalvin Phillips (N/A):
Only came on in the 83rd minute.
Marcus Rashford (N/A):
Only came on in the 83rd minute.
Cole Palmer (N/A):
Only on the pitch for seven minutes.
Gareth Southgate (5/10):
His starting XI didn’t gel with each other and couldn’t improve the performance with his team talk or changes.
