Playing for 90
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 27: Lorenzo Pellegrini of Italy (L) competes for the ball with Jesse Lingard of England during the International friendly football match between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium on March 27, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 27: Lorenzo Pellegrini of Italy (L) competes for the ball with Jesse Lingard of England during the International friendly football match between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium on March 27, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images) /

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 7

Oxlade-Chamberlain is perfectly suited to playing on the right side of midfield in Southgate’s 5-3-2 system. He linked up well with Raheem Sterling on a couple of occasions and, just like against the Netherlands, he looked a real threat on the counter when England broke forward with pace.

He was booked in the 39th minute for kicking the ball away, which was ridiculously petulant considering this was only a friendly. Still, having not even been included in Southgate’s last squad, the Liverpool man now looks to have cemented his spot for the World Cup with two decent displays over the last few days.

More from Playing for 90

Eric Dier – 7

With several options in central defense and with Jordan Henderson battling for the holding midfield position, there was quite a lot of pressure on Dier – England’s captain for the night – to remind everyone why he should be a certain starter for his country.

Playing in the center of a midfield three, he showed a great range of passing throughout the match and held his disciplined position well. He played the last 20 minutes in defense, where he could play at the World Cup if Southgate wants Henderson in holding midfield.

Jesse Lingard – 7.5

Lingard has been a favorite of Southgate’s for a long time and, after scoring the only goal of the game against the Netherlands on Friday, he showed again here why he’s almost certain to be on the plane to Russia this summer.

The Manchester United midfielder was only involved in one of England’s notable attacks during the match – but it was the one that mattered most. With the Italy defense switched off, he played a quick free-kick through to Jamie Vardy in the first half to set up the first goal of the game.

Home/International Soccer