The past weighs heavily on England. Mostly because the team, comprising players who play in probably the best and most popular leagues, hardly creates ripples at the world stage. Things have been better in the last four years, though: a World Cup semifinal in 2018, and the finals of Euro 2020, when they lost on penalties against Italy. The game saw Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho miss from the spot. Sancho didn’t make the plane to Qatar, but in England's opening World Cup win against Iran, Saka scored two, and Rashford one. Missed penalties partially forgotten then.
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It ended 6-2 against a side which England were expected to beat, but also the kind of side they have had to work hard to shrug off in the past. In 2006, England hardly inspired in two wins and a draw in the group stage despite the likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, and Frank Lampard in the side with Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, and John Terry at the back. They won 1-0 against Ecuador in the last 16 and unsurprisingly crashed out in the quarters against Portugal. In 2010 in South Africa, they opened with a 1-1 draw vs USA, and then drew 0-0 against a spirited Algeria side. They ground out a 1-0 win against Slovenia and were hammered in the knockouts 4-1 by Germany. In 2018, they beat Tunisia 2-1, thanks to an injury time winner from Harry Kane.
This time, though, there was no struggle. Rather, they outplayed Iran comfortably and gave a sign of things to come. Jude Bellingham was phenomenal in midfield; the 19-year-old scoring the first goal with a classic header and dominating performance that made former England international Jermaine Jenas call him “Gerrard and Lampard rolled into one” in a conversation with the BBC. “Bellingham is a throwback, he can really do it all. He is like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard rolled into one. It's a real bonus for Gareth Southgate to get him now in the form that he is in.” Bellingham had 100 percent success in take-ons, finished 97 percent of his 95 passes, and did not stop driving through midfield.
But there is more to come. So much more.
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For Saka, it was about burying the ghosts of the missed penalty, and his two goals were shining with the confidence of a player who has become better and better in the last two years. For the first goal, it was the much-derided Harry Maguire who opened up play with a pass that broke through the lines to start the move. He had also hit the bar minutes earlier and could have opened the scoring. He came off with an illness but not before getting a rare assist for Saka’s first. To perform the way he did for an hour after his trials at Manchester United was good to see. He also won all five of his duels.
Another player struggling for form at club level is Raheem Sterling. Cut to international football, and he got a goal and an assist in the World Cup opener.
But England should not make too much of the scoreline. What they should take from this game is the mental resilience of a team which crumbles under expectations. Their options are fearsome, though, and that was evident when Gareth Southgate made four changes at one point. Three of those changes were Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, and Phil Foden. Two of them scored.
Southgate and England fans couldn’t have asked for more. Certain questions have been answered: can England play free-flowing football? Yes. Can players from Arsenal, the two Manchester clubs, Liverpool, and Chelsea come together as a unit? Yes. Can the youngsters with potential deliver in another country, at a tough tournament, with all eyes on them? Yes. Should they get carried away? No.
Every England player who scored last night scored their first ever World Cup goal. That is a massive psychological boost. But they let gaps open up and conceded two goals – gaps that must be shut down in games against USA and Wales. Those two played out a 1-1 draw and this group can open up unless England are clinical.
For now, the Premier League stars have shown they can blend themselves into a proper side. Southgate’s task is to keep them on the pitch rather than float in complacency.
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