England player ratings vs Malta: Phil Foden stars as Fikayo Tomori struggles
England will more than likely go into the draw for next year’s European Championship among the top seeds after securing top spot in their qualifying group after beating Malta 2-0 at Wembley Stadium on Friday night.
Despite winning, it was a flat evening at Wembley where some England fans preferred throwing paper aeroplanes down the stands, to getting behind the team. But who, if anybody, impressed from England’s starting XI and who disappointed?
England
Jordan Pickford
Survived a scare in the first minute when Malta got sight of goal and went just wide through Teddy Teuma but otherwise was not troubled much despite Malta’s counter-attack attempts. 6/10
Kieran Trippier
Started in his favoured right-back position before switching flanks in the second half. Good support to Foden when England got forward, without providing the killer pass for a team-mate. 6/10
Harry Maguire
Guilty of poor distribution in the first half, with one pass setting up a shot for Paul Mbong, then another playing his team into trouble. Took a knock first half and could continue and was fine one-vs-one. 5/10
Marc Guehi
Never looked in much trouble either with his positioning or his passing out of defence, with composure on the ball. He is looking a certainty for the Euro squad as centre-back to support Maguire and John Stones. 6/10
Fikayo Tomori
Makeshift left-back but was not the most convincing of performances from the AC Milan defender, who was taken off at half-time. Took heavy tackle from Paul Mbong and guilty of late challenge himself. 4/10
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Wore No 10 and plenty of England’s play went through him. Survived heavy challenge from Kemar Reid early on. Got a shots away in the second half after a clash of heads with Rashford. 6/10
Jordan Henderson
There were a few boos when his name was read out and when taken off in the second half, over his move to the riches of Saudi Arabia. He kept the ball moving without getting England behind their opponents’ defensive line. 5/10
Conor Gallagher
Threw himself into tackles and won the ball in midfield, with some neat short passes but he would have liked to have made a bigger impression on the game during his 45 minutes on the pitch. 5/10
Phil Foden
It was his pull-back in the eighth minute that led to England’s early goal, which was turned in by Pepe. He was positive with his dribbling and looked most likely to create more danger. 7/10
Harry Kane
Finally got his chance in the 75th minute and tucked away his finish. Earlier booked for inviting challenge from Bonella and initiating contact. Held the ball up really well and showed his strength in those deep areas but would have liked more chances. 6/10
Marcus Rashford
Very quiet first half hour before getting more of the ball and running at Malta. Unlucky with penalty shout which was not a foul on Pepe, even if it was not a spot-kick. Came off after clash of heads with Alexander-Arnold. 5/10