England held by Poland in World Cup qualifier

 England held by Poland in World Cup qualifier.

England are almost there but not quite. It does seem that England have become past masters in the art of qualifying for major international tournaments but then their legs turn to jelly when somebody tells them that there are quarter finals, semi finals and the final to be overcome. There's a sudden attack of stage fright, an inexplicable neuroses and that psychological meltdown that always seems to come over them when somebody faces them with formidable tools in their armoury. 

During the summer England did all the right things at the right time but then discovered that by the latter stages of Euro 2020, the realisation had dawned on them that on this occasion there were no prizes for finishing as runners up or any kind of consolation. After England had outclassed Italy in the first half of the Euro 2020 final, Roberto Mancini cast his mind back to his days as Manchester City manager and made sure that football is a game of two halves. In the second half of England's Euro 2020 Final England just retreated into their shell like naughty schoolchildren who have just pinched the teacher's chalk and then they were beaten by the Italians.  

But here we are in the first days of September and England have World Cup qualification to Qatar at the end of next November uppermost in their minds. England have always treated these qualifying matches as gentle training exercises since none of the opposition they find themselves pitted against provide them with any major headaches. England have now extended their lead at the top of their Group I qualifying group and it all looks pretty much plain sailing. 

You see the trouble is that when the likes of Andorra and San Marino are your forthcoming opponents at any level of football you don't tremble with fear and trepidation. The emergence of nations such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Gibraltar will never bring out any international team in a cold sweat. Not at the moment anyway. So you scratch your head and question the logic and reasoning behind such a ludicrous charade and then chuckle at such ill conceived and warped thinking. Then you simply go with the flow, accepting the absurdity of the idea and just doing what has to be done. 

Last night England had Poland to deal with and October 1973 as a heavy weight to lift from their shoulders. The events of that fateful night for Sir Alf Ramsey's England will not be remembered with any fondness at all and history, by way of a complete change, was quite definitely, on their side last night. Gareth Southgae's men are playing the kind of neat, attractive, short and quick passing game that some of us thought we'd never ever see from any England side for generations to come. There is much more to come from Southgate's band of merry men and expectations are such that when, as opposed to if, England qualify for next year's World Cup, most of us will assume that they can be regarded as potential winners. 

But whereas Sir Alf Ramsey just grimly shuffled away from the scene of the crime that night 48 years ago knowing that he'd be sacked in the morning, Gareth Southgate had the assured air of a man who knows that fate will always be on his side. There is still that unmistakable demeanour of the schoolteacher who walks into his class and knows that his students will have the utmost respect for everything he does.

Southgate conducts himself with an almost dignified detachment from the centre of things, as if he was judging a talent contest rather than a football match. Smartly dressed and well presented as always, the look is serious, a man totally absorbed in a way that we hadn't quite seen in his predecessors. In recent years Fabio Cappello just looked angry and annoyed, a demanding perfectionist who couldn't quite get his head around English football. Sven Goran Erikssen occasionally threw a minor tantrum when things went wrong but Erikssen never knew whether to laugh or cry. Some believed that he was a mystery, enigmatic and more pre-occupied with his troubled private life. 

Before Southgate there was Roy Hodgson, fluent in several languages and hugely knowledgeable as both a coach and manager. But there were frequent moments when Hodgson's face seemed to crumple in an agonised grimace. He would punch the air with obvious delight when England scored or were actually controlling a game and then throw his body around in a complete show of  furious disgust. Hodgson was good for England but maybe he felt he couldn't really give any more to the England cause.

And so we move back to Gareth Southgate's England in the present day. History of course has always burdened England when Poland get under England's skin. 48 years ago in Katowice England captain Bobby Moore had a rush of blood to the head when his sloppy back pass eventually led to England's undoing and defeat. That was followed by the Wembley fiasco when poor Norman Hunter stumbled awkwardly on the half way line and the Poles opened the scoring. Alan Clarke levelled with a penalty but the game for England on that traumatic night was up. 

With a glorious 4-0 victory in Budapest, England demonstrated a ruthlessness and clinical efficiency that must have done wonders for their morale after their admittedly poor showing in the second half of their Euro 2020 Final encounter with Italy. England now have a familiarity about them, a reliability, a charm offensive and the kind of form that suggests a fluid continuity has now been established. England are now on course to somewhere rather than tourists asking you where Regent Street is. 

Against Andorra on Sunday England were expected to demolish Andorra with all the destructiveness of a wrecking ball but ended up hunting around for goals rather like prospectors for gold. For well over an hour, England were making distinctly heavy weather over opposition who had quite clearly decided to set up camp in their own half and soak up some late summer sunshine at Wembley. If Andorra actually touched the ball more than once it may well have been a lot and by the time England had scored their fourth goal against such nondescript opposition, Andorra were longing to be back among the skiing slopes again.

Last night though represented an altogether more daunting task. Poland had a battle hardened look about them, always difficult to break down and full of dogged perseverance when the team leak goals. In recent years Poland have languished in a desolate no man's land. They did once get to the final stages of the 1974 World Cup of West Germany. But there are no Zbigniew Bonieks or Kazimierz Deynas in the Poland team nowadays and the Poland we saw last night could only offer the mechanical rather than the technical, a team of plodding artisans rather than one with flair or style. 

After a lifeless first half though England upped the attacking tempo in the second half. Once again John Stones, Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire gradually quickened the pace, smooth, versatile and adaptable at all times. Then the exceptional Declan Rice began to move ambitiously into the Polish half while always conscious that England's back door had been securely shut, shielding his area like a security guard on duty. 

With Kalvin Philips of Leeds and Mason Mount snatching the ball away from the Poles as and when required, England broke patiently out of defence before setting the England attack in motion. The relationship between Mason Mount and Jack Grealish though was such a prominent feature of England's performance that you were reminded of Burgess and Mclean, undercover spies but nonetheless studious and menacing. 

Grealish for his part is slowly emerging as England's go to man, a player of wit, forward thinking innovation and refined craftsmanship. At times it is easy to see Grealish at the potters wheel, moulding expensive earthenware vases or splendid plates. In possession of the ball Grealish seems to hold the ball close to his feet almost constantly as if it was something to be protected and looked after. Then he teases, torments and dances, a nimble, balletic player with innumerable gifts. He then goes one way while a beleaguered defender goes the other. Grealish won countless free kicks because the opposition are drawn into inevitable fouls. 

Suddenly, after a spell of persistent pressure from England where the ball seemed to fly around the pitch like that silver ball on a pinball machine, England finally took the lead. A flurry of quick passes from way out on the touchline involving both Grealish, Mount, Sterling and Walker ended up at the feet of Harry Kane. England's lucky mascot and talisman and now prodigious scorer of goals sized up his shot from distance and sent a dipping, bending and powerful drive that lifted at the last moment before Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szcezesny simply pawed at the air as the ball hit the net with some force. 

And that appeared to be that for the now disgruntled Polish fans who could hardly contain their shock. Poland seemed to be going nowhere with their well intentioned football but there was little bite or genuine conviction in their attacking game. It was half baked, undercooked and invariably misshapen. Only the legendary striker Robert Lewandowski had any idea of where the goal was supposed to be and even then he began to look like some stranded ship out at sea. There were half hearted signals from Lewandowski but then whistling in the wind.

But then somebody answered Poland's distress call. With the match a minute away from full time that man Lewandowski found space just outside England's penalty area and the striker's shrewdly directed cross found Damian Syzmanski who headed wide of England goalkeeper Jason Pickford and into the net for an equaliser that perhaps few could see coming. 

So it was honours even and England move a step closer to qualification to Qatar for the World Cup scheduled to be held at the end of next year just before the festive decorations go up. It seems fairly safe to assume that England will be there ready, present and correct. But the script always seems to have the same kind of narrative to it. For the time being though we must wish Gareth Southgate the best of wishes since it is hard to know what the Saudis may think of men wearing waistcoats in the middle of baking desert heat. The mind boggles.