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#2 Kosovo’s end product was poor
Despite the 0-4 scoreline, this wasn’t one of England’s most convincing performances during this qualifying campaign. In fact, there’s probably an argument to be made that this was second only to their October loss to the Czech Republic in terms of Gareth Southgate’s side looking off the boil. Midfielders Harry Winks and Declan Rice were relatively impressive, but outside of them, the side struggled at times.
So how did this game turn into a 0-4 win for the Three Lions? Essentially, Kosovo’s end product was absolutely appalling – and probably explains why they weren’t able to qualify for Euro 2020 ahead of the Czech Republic. Bernard Challandes’ side had 45% possession and actually had 12 shots on goal – but only 3 of them were on target and none truly tested England goalkeeper Nick Pope.
If anything, it was lucky for England that Kosovo’s finishing was so poor; once again their back-line looked shaky at times, with Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings guilty on more than one occasion of being found out of position or sloppy in the pass – although it must be said that the quality of the pitch was clearly a problem for him at times as it was for some of England’s other players.
It seems paramount that Southgate must find a steady partner for Harry Maguire before the tournament begins; Michael Keane has been badly exposed over the last few games, Mings appears limited and question marks still hang over the judgment of John Stones. Perhaps Fikayo Tomori – who made his full England debut tonight and like Mings, is also left-footed – is the answer?
