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England player ratings: Sterling stars as Italy earn late draw

By Danny Hart

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 27: The England team observe a minutes silence in memory of Jimmy Armfield, Cyrille Regis, and Davide Astori prior to the International friendly between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium on March 27, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 27: The England team observe a minutes silence in memory of Jimmy Armfield, Cyrille Regis, and Davide Astori prior to the International friendly between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium on March 27, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 27: Jack Butland of England reacts during the International friendly between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium on March 27, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 27: Jack Butland of England reacts during the International friendly between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium on March 27, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /

Jack Butland – 7

The Stoke goalkeeper didn’t make any mistakes and there was nothing he could do about Lorenzo Insigne’s brilliant penalty. In truth, there really wasn’t much for him to do in the match, so this performance certainly won’t have won or lost him the #1 shirt for the World Cup.

Gareth Southgate has made it clear that he wants a goalkeeper and defense that can pass the ball out from the back. It looks to be a straight choice between Butland and Pickford, with club performances between now and the end of the season likely to determine which of them gets the nod.

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Kieran Trippier – 6.5

The one major positive that Trippier brings to the England team is his quality from set-pieces. The Tottenham defender was the go-to man on free-kicks and corners against the Netherlands and Italy, which bodes well for the World Cup (nobody wants another tournament with Harry Kane on corners).

He wasn’t involved in the Italy game as much as he was against the Dutch, with his only notable run forward down the right resulting in him conceding possession. Still, he had a decent 58-minute performance and he is now seriously in the reckoning to start at the World Cup, which didn’t look likely before these friendlies.

Ashley Young – 7

Young put in a solid performance as a substitute against the Netherlands on Friday and he was even better during his stints as a left-back (58 minutes) and right-back (32 minutes) against Italy, often bursting forward down the wing to help support the attack.

His best moment came early in the second half when he combined superbly with Raheem Sterling before having his cross blocked after a wonderful piece of play to race past a defender. The Manchester United man’s versatility will stand him in good stead when Southgate names his squad.

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