Our England player ratings are in after last night’s Euro 2020 final disappointment, with these players doing themselves proud despite the penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy.
The Three Lions couldn’t quite manage to bring football home, but they sure gave it a better go than many previous generations of big-name superstars who totally failed to live up to their potential.
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This current squad might just be short of being a ‘Golden Generation’ at the moment, but it’s increasingly clear that there’s a very talented bunch of youngsters in Gareth Southgate’s side who may well be ready to go all the way in future tournaments.
For now, here’s how England rated against Italy in last night’s Euro 2020 final…
Jordan Pickford (8) – A player who has really grown into his role in the England team, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford might not have been guaranteed to be Gareth Southgate’s number one for this summer, but he pulled off some great saves against Italy, both in normal time and in the shoot-out as he came so close to making himself a hero.
Kieran Trippier (7) – A fine start with the assist for Luke Shaw’s goal, but Kieran Trippier didn’t really provide enough of the attacking threat England needed for most of the game.
Luke Shaw (8) – Maybe not quite as influential as in his previous games in this tournament, but still got forward well, scoring a well-taken goal that had the country dreaming. Continued to work hard throughout the game, but simply didn’t see enough of the ball to really provide that attacking threat he’s so capable of.
Harry Maguire (7) – Did the best he could in difficult circumstances as Italy dominated possession. Showed leadership and quality to fire home a thunderous penalty in the shoot-out.
John Stones (7) – Another solid game from John Stones, who has had a fine tournament. Could maybe have done a bit better on the Leonardo Bonucci goal, though the defence in general was all over the place.
Kyle Walker (8) – Perhaps a better centre-back than right-back? Kyle Walker has had his ups and downs in his England career, but was one of the team’s better defensive players yesterday as he really put a shift in and showed how much he gets his role as part of a back three.
Declan Rice (6) – A supremely talented young player with a big future, but this game will be a lesson for him. Italy’s midfield really swamped England once they got their passing going, and Declan Rice just didn’t quite have enough in him to disrupt their rhythm. He shielded his back four pretty well, but this was a big test and Italy undoubtedly won the midfield battle.
Kalvin Phillips (6) – Similarly to Rice, this was a big challenge for Kalvin Phillips, who just wasn’t quite in the same league as Jorginho and Marco Verratti. He can hold his head high after a great tournament, but it remains to be seen if this is really the ideal partnership for a game of this size.
Raheem Sterling (6) – A sadly quieter performance from one of the players of the tournament, Raheem Sterling could really have been a useful weapon for England with his pace and skill against Italy’s ageing centre-backs, but he didn’t really do enough to take the game by the scruff of the neck. He’s capable of much better than this, but it just wasn’t his night.
Mason Mount (5) – Really disappointing from a player who looked so assured for Chelsea when they won the Champions League final. Mason Mount was pretty anonymous for much of the time he was on the pitch, which just makes it all the more frustrating that he’s played so much more than Jack Grealish has in this tournament.
Harry Kane (6) – Starved of service perhaps, but it was still a pretty flat performance from Harry Kane up front. A player of his quality should still be able to fashion some opportunities for himself, but he didn’t have a single shot in the game or create a chance for any of his team-mates. It might be the system that needs tweaking, but Kane also needs to step up and be more of a leader in these situations.
Subs: Bukayo Saka (6), Jordan Henderson (5), Jack Grealish (6), Jadon Sancho (N/A), Marcus Rashford (N/A)