James Maddison was solid on his full England debut and the first signs of Jude Bellingham burnout are evident, but Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane were brilliant.
JORDAN PICKFORD
The most virtual of spectators. Pulled clear of Paul Robinson for England clean sheets and it is impossible and weird to argue he shouldn’t have. One small quibble is that Pickford’s kicking was pretty substandard, with a pass accuracy lower than any other Three Lions starter.
KYLE WALKER
Pretty much the archetypal example as to why he still gets picked despite a) being 32, b) this not being his best of seasons and c) the stuff with the thing. Ukraine’s entire attacking plan was constructed around Mykhaylo Mudryk’s pace and Walker single-handedly (double-footedly?) countered it. The one time the Chelsea forward did get through after pulling the Manchester City right-back out of position with a nifty one-two, the move was offside. That recovery pace and covering defence is here to stay for a while – certainly as long as everyone else fails to sustain a proper challenge in the position.
JOHN STONES
Made no tackles, interceptions, clearances or fouls because he did not have to. Shite at Countdown.
HARRY MAGUIRE
Could not help but ruin a faultless and imposing, albeit largely unchallenged 90 minutes by heading over a presentable chance at the back post from a corner. Ended up with the joint-most shots of any player. Really good positioning to intercept a Mudryk cutback at one stage but even that was offside as Ukraine offered close to nothing.
BEN CHILWELL
England focusing most of their forward play down the right, coupled with the awkward deployment of Maddison as a left-sided central midfielder in support, meant Chilwell struggled to properly impose himself at times. On the rare early occasions he actually advanced into the opposition half the threat he can pose was clear: first with a lovely ball in which evaded an applauding Kane after 10 minutes, then when driving from deep to start the move for the opening goal. It was no coincidence that as soon as Grealish came on and a semblance of balance was restored, Chilwell looked really very good indeed.
The decision to greet a nice Stones switch by hammering the ball backwards and up into the air under no real pressure in the first half was funny. Really enjoyed that. Proper training ground move.
Ben Chilwell’s game by numbers vs. Ukraine:
100% take-on success
76 touches
5 ball recoveries
4 accurate crosses
3…
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