England beat Romania in last friendly before Euros.

 England beat Romania in last friendly before Euros. 

As a dress rehearsal before the real thing, England were rather like nervous singers on opening night. This was hardly the most important game Gareth Southgate's men will ever be required to make. It was a friendly that was almost good naturedly amiable in as much that nobody was hurt in the field of action, no reputations were tarnished and nobody was caught up in the  crossfire. There was good, old fashioned sparring, a couple of left hooks to the chin but this was an England who were quite clearly saving their best for the more prestigious contests to come next Sunday. 

On Friday Euro 2020, postponed from last year, owing to the global pandemic, will be up and running with the opening game between Turkey and Italy. After what must have seemed a lifetime, the tournament that should have been scheduled last year, will now be crammed into a year that should now be devoted to World Cup qualifiers.

 But the whole logistical nightmare may well turn into some over congested traffic jam. It may be just as well to simply resign ourselves to the way in which unfortunate events have now meant that England now found themselves in some emotional dilemma. Do they concentrate their attentions on the up and coming Euros and bust a gut to win it or simply think about becoming World Champions? Difficult.

This is the most delicate of balancing acts because next year's World Cup Finals in the swelteringly hot desert lands of Qatar may seem like a very enticing distraction for England. Three years ago in Russia, England came agonisingly close to only their second World Cup Final when Kieran Trippier swung a viciously driven free kick high over a Croatian wall and into the net. Then, as perhaps we privately feared, Croatia put on their partying glad rags, equalising in the second half almost predictably then scoring the winner in extra time. 

But now England find themselves on the verge of yet another major tournament and although the Euros are not quite the rainbow they might have been hoping to see, it'll surely come as a welcome surprise to their systems. Normally the hysterical elements among the pundits and analysts have now assumed that because some of the matches as well as the semi final or final will be held at Wembley, England are overwhelming favourites to win. Some might care to recall Euro 96 as a template for what could happen as long as you don't collide with Germany.

So it was that England, after narrowly and unimpressively beating Austria last week 1-0, now faced a Romanian side who have never really bothered anybody in either a European Championship or World Cup. There was though far more of a threatening snarl about Romania's attacking football than some of us might have anticipated. In the end it all worked out well for England but their opponent's quick witted and intelligently constructed football yesterday did leave England slightly destabilised and yearning for the final whistle. 

We all perhaps know about previous encounters between these two nations. There was the World Cup Finals in Mexico in 1970 when Sir Alf Ramsey's cocksure and quite possibly arrogant England beat Romania by a goal from a low, hard shot by Jeff Astle. Sir Alf Ramsey then suffered a rush of  blood when, against West Germany with two goals to the good, he brought off his most productive players and then collapsed when the tree trunk thighs of Gerd Muller sent England packing home.

Then after establishing a modicum of domination against Romania at the 1998 World Cup in France England frittered away a crucial advantage. When Phil Neville brought down his counterpart attacker, the penalty was simply stroked home for Romania's winner and England were out of the competition. So the sense of a hoodoo may have lingered within England supporters psyche. This was never remotely though, revenge for a World Cup exit but at least this was friendly fire and nobody was injured into the bargain. 

For much of the game England engaged in another knitting and sewing session, endless circles and triangles of passes, neat ornamentation and close proximity passing that perhaps only served to remind us that England can keep the ball for varying lengths without losing it carelessly. Their passing was immaculate and picturesque, ornate and deeply reassuring. Of course England can play the short passing game and of course the penny has dropped. The primitive, almost primeval adherence to the long ball into nowhere in particular is now some dated museum piece, condemned to some ancient age. 

But there were times when England were perhaps over elaborate, over egging the pudding as such, a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. Of course football is a collective entity whereby an entire team has to form a common rapport with each other. Football is essentially a team game par excellence and finally England have cracked it, understood and clarified it because they might as well just to be sure of themselves. 

At the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough the defensive solidity of Tyron Mings, Ben White and Ben Godfrey may have been untried gambles but this was a friendly and besides all coped magnificently with anything the Romanians may have had up their sleeve. Luke Shaw was a powerful and purposeful presence at full back, tracking his opponents and then snuffing out sporadic Romanian onslaughts with calm interceptions and streetwise know how, hard working adroitness. England had smothered a blanket over the Romanians and they knew that even a thin sheet would have sufficed against ordinary opponents. 

Once again the Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish underlined his Euro credentials with the grandest announcement. Grealish was undoubtedly the man of the match and the Paul Gascoigne comparisons, although valid, are not quite as applicable as they might seem. Grealish has yet to burp in front of the Italian media, he won't be flinging himself to the ground and accepting bottles of water on the ground after scoring a goal and there will be no dentist chairs in bars. In retrospect the preamble to Euro 96 all seemed very unnecessary but that was Gazza for you. 

Furthermore it is hard to believe that there will be any outrageous acts of insubordination or disobedience when the manager tells him to help out his defence as and when necessary. Grealish is no non conformist, a loose cannon, a naughty boy who falls out of nightclubs in the early hours of the morning with kebabs in one hand and several bottles of lager in the other. But the worrying fall outs with referees and various private indiscretions with the demon booze have heightened the festering anxieties. 

Yesterday evening Grealish tricked, fooled, deceived, shifting the ball from one foot to the other with bewildering speed and dexterity. He drew defenders to him like moths to a light bulb then dabbled in some footloose hop scotch with the rest of the Romanian defence. Grealish is the epitome of style and class,  tomfoolery and skulduggery in a dark blue English shirt. Grealish was the personification of cheek and impertinence, challenging his defenders with delightful footwork before surging past his opponents in the blink of an eye.

Southampton's James Ward Prowse also emphasised his importance to England's strength in depth. Prowse was also perceptive and intuitive, passing with utter precision, running and moving into space with striking intelligence and master of his craft. He is not quite the finished article but he is getting there. Prowse was once again here, there and everywhere, demanding the ball and receiving it before setting England in motion again and again. 

Then there is Kalvin Philips, the first Leeds player to pull on an England shirt in quite a while. Philips is still finding his feet quite steadily and there was something very reliable and capable about yesterday's performance. Maybe Philips is wet behind the ears and yet to achieve his best in the international arena but there is a something sensible and practical about the Leeds player, an eye-catching and astute presence, almost quiet and understated. 

Jadon Sancho, fresh from his Bundesliga experiences in Germany, looked decent and respectable, athletic and very versatile, a player who can dismantle a creaky defence in a matter of seconds. Sancho comes from today's crop of very young players who know how to manipulate a football without feeling as if it's a hot potato. Sancho is savvy and full of shrewdness, a street poet with the ball and not afraid to try the impossible. 

Then there was the captain for the day Marcus Rashford, a player who warmed the hearts of the nation when he took on the mantle of the hero of the moment last summer. Rashford was the one with the crusading zeal, the youngster who thrust himself into the limelight for an excellent cause. The Manchester United striker nagged the UK government into introducing free school dinner vouchers to children who have been so criminally neglected at lunchtimes. 

Yesterday after Jack Grealish had been brought to ground for England's winning penalty, Rashford stepped up to the plate and nonchalantly stroked home the penalty as if he'd been doing it since he was a child in the playground. Rashford also roasted some of his defenders with the kind of lightning pace we've come to admire in him. One mazy run into the Romanian's penalty area was so destructive that there were quivering defenders who just wanted to find a hole in the ground. 

Up front Dominic Calvin Lewin, after a superb season with Everton, headed just over the bar, skimming the woodwork as he did so. Then there was the second penalty of the game. Jordan Henderson, England's customary captain, had just come on when Lewin was unceremoniously bundled over in the penalty area. Lewin pleaded with his captain to take the penalty and then much to his horror was overruled by Henderson who promptly hit the penalty at the goalkeeper's chest. There you are, that'll teach Henderson for thinking he knows what's best. 

Sadly though this friendly proceeded to simply peter out like some burnt out sparkler. It was neither here nor there as a spectacle which is invariably the case anyway. At times it had the feeling of a pre-season friendly with both teams bathed in early summer sunshine. This was just the final preparation before the main event and nobody is expecting any stage fright yet.  

When Gareth Southgate leads his England team out for their first game against Croatia in the European Championships he may have unnerving reminders of the World Cup semi final in Russia. But then he may care to remember the clinical way that Wayne Rooney sliced open the Croatian defence in Euro 2004 when he scored for fun. There are no Davor Suker types to create havoc for Croatia and Luka Modric may have passed his sell by date but this is a high profile tournament and we all know what happens to England when somebody gives them a coherent script. This could be either very painful or just magically triumphant. We know and everybody else does. England probably expects.