England player ratings: Sterling stars as Italy earn late draw

Kyle Walker – 7.5

Many people expected Walker to move to his more familiar right-back role against Italy. Instead, he continued on the right side of the three central defenders, putting in another composed performance to show exactly why he is one of the few guaranteed starters for England at the World Cup.

The Manchester City defender’s pace obviously stands out but his range of passing was especially impressive in this match. The only negative? He received a yellow card for a clumsy shirt-pull on the edge of the box.

John Stones – 5.5

Stones’ night got off to a terrible start. Italy were presented with an attacking opportunity inside the first minute after the center-back failed to play offside, and then he totally lost his footing on the edge of his own box a minute later and gave the visitors another early chance.

In fairness, he recovered from the early setbacks to put in a steady performance for the rest of the match, but lapses in concentration like that could easily prove costly at a World Cup. He was replaced on 71 minutes after Antonio Candreva drilled a cross straight into his face.

James Tarkowski – 6.5

For the majority of his international debut, Tarkowski hardly put a foot wrong. He was comfortable and confident in possession and he seemed to fit in really well on the left side of England’s three-man central defense.

However, his big night will likely be remembered for giving away a penalty in the 85th minute after stepping on Federico Chiesa’s foot. The referee went to VAR and, after much deliberation, a penalty was given. Harsh? Yes. Correct decision? Even after several replays, people are still debating it, but the referee got it right in the end.