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England extra-time misery after John Stones’ blunder lets in Netherlands England extra-time misery after John Stones’ blunder lets in Netherlands
(32 minutes later)
It was an ignominious way for England to lose and, ultimately, their collapse in extra time was probably best summed up by the image of Ross Barkley with his face down in the turf, not wanting to look up and survey the damage after his mistake for the third Dutch goal. It was an ignominious way for England to lose and a reminder, perhaps, that no matter the scale of improvement under Gareth Southgate it is still easy sometimes to slip into bad old habits – in this case, a valiant attempt to be recognised as international football’s Slapstick XI once the game had gone into extra time.
Barkley was not the only player wandering round the pitch with the look of a zombie. For John Stones, this was a personal ordeal in keeping with a bittersweet season on the fringes of Manchester city’s success. The records will show it was Kyle Walker’s own-goal that gave the Netherlands their second goal. In reality, it was a fairly dreadful error from Stones that put England in danger, dilly-dalling on the ball with Memphis Depay in close proximity. If that sounds slightly harsh, how else could that traumatic half an hour be analysed when two of the goals scored by the Netherlands came from the kind of defensive howlers that show Southgate’s team are still getting to grips with the modern era of knocking the ball around their own penalty area?
Netherlands 3-1 England: Nations League player ratings | Dominic Fifield
It might look good when it comes off. Not so much, though, when Ross Barkley has his face down in the turf, not wanting to look up and survey the damage after his mistake for the third Dutch goal. Or when Jordan Pickford is screaming at John Stones, another one wandering round with the look of a zombie, for the fairly dreadful error that began the capitulation.
For Stones, this was a personal ordeal in keeping with a season on the fringes of Manchester City’s success. The records will show it was Kyle Walker’s own goal that put the Netherlands in front. In reality, it was Stones who endangered his team, dilly-dalling on the ball with Memphis Depay in close proximity, losing possession and watching the rest unfurl without being able to do anything about it.
It was difficult to know which was the more calamitous goal and, unfortunately for Stones, he had a part in both. It was Stones, after all, who played the pass that put Barkley under pressure and saw him, as the last man, lose the ball to Depay again. Quincy Promes, one of the Dutch substitutes, was waiting to turn in Depay’s pass to make it 3-1 and that, for England, was that – another semi-final defeat and another story of squandering a first-half lead, just as they had done against Croatia during last summer’s World Cup.
At least this time the consequences are not so high and England’s late collapse came in the Nations League – a competition that not everyone takes seriously. Yet a final is a final and there was still a tremendous sense of disappointment for Southgate and his players, particularly when they think back on taking the lead via Marcus Rashford’s first-half penalty and, at 1-1, the celebrations in the 84th minute when they thought the substitute Jesse Lingard had scored a potential winner. It would have a brilliant goal: a drag-back from Raheem Sterling, a beautifully measured through ball from Barkley, followed by a precise finish. Instead the VAR officials had noted Lingard was marginally offside. The goal was ruled out and England deteriorated from that point.
Netherlands v England: Nations League semi-final goes to extra time – live!Netherlands v England: Nations League semi-final goes to extra time – live!
Depay took the ball off Stones and took aim at Jordan Pickford’s goal. It was a fine save from England’s goalkeeper but the ball was loose and, even with Walker’s renowned pace, the substitute Quincy Promes slid in first to connect with the rebound. In those moments it must have been startling for Southgate to see their mix of naivety and carelessness. Too often Stones has been guilty of the kind of lapses in concentration that saw him lose the ball to Depay and give the former Manchester United player a chance to take aim at Jordan Pickford’s goal. It was a one-handed, scrambling save from England’s goalkeeper but the ball was loose. Pickford could not get up quickly enough and, even with Walker’s renowned pace, Promes slid in first. Even then, the ball would have squirted wide of the goal until it looped in off the luckless Walker, leaving Pickford furiously remonstrating with Stones.
The ball went in off the luckless Walker and, unfortunately for Stones, the centre-half was also partly at fault again when Promes added the third goal with 114 minutes on the clock. It was Stones’s pass that put Barkley under pressure, losing the ball and allowing Depay to set up Promes. When Promes gave the Netherlands a two-goal cushion, with 114 minutes on the clock, the England supporters started heading away in their droves, knowing their team would not be going to Porto for Sunday’s final against Portugal but returning to Guimarães for the third-v-fourth play-off against Switzerland.
It was difficult to know which was the more calamitous goal and that made it a tremendous disappointment for Gareth Southgate and his players after they had taken the lead via Marcus Rashford’s first-half penalty and, at 1-1, celebrated what they thought was a potential winner from the substitute Jesse Lingard in the 84th minute, only for it to be ruled out by a marginal VAR offside decision. England had the backing of three-quarters of the stadium and enough support to make it resemble a home game. There were only two corners of Vitória’s ground populated by the garish shirts of Oranje, which was probably an indication about how the Dutch remain a bit aloof to this competition. Otherwise it was an English invasion, and who could the blame the Dutch fans for their “oles” late on? As usual, the dunderheads among England’s support had somehow felt it necessary to whistle, boo and shout down the Dutch national anthem.
As has been the case for most of Southgate’s reign, it was a system built on quick, penetrative attackers, overlapping full-backs and an ability to switch seamlessly between different formations rather than relying rigidly on one system. One move, in particular, felt symbolic of the new era: Jadon Sancho dancing through the middle and having the impudence to slip the ball through Matthijs de Ligt’s legs before a beautifully weighted reverse pass to slip Rashford behind the defence. Denzel Dumfries saved the Netherlands with a brilliant tackle but it was still a fine snapshot of how Southgate wants England to attack, with vibrancy, wit and the courage to try new things. Ultimately, it was a triumphant night, too, for Matthijs de Ligt bearing in mind it was his mistake, letting the ball run under his foot, that panicked him into fouling Rashford for the penalty.
England also had the backing of three-quarters of the stadium and enough support to make it resemble a home game. There were only two corners of Vitória’s ground populated by the garish shirts of Oranje, which was probably an indication about how the Dutch remain aloof to this competition. Otherwise it was an English invasion and when they are not getting some strange kick out of their unpleasantness – exhibit A: whistling and singing through the Dutch national anthem – the people who follow Southgate’s team to these unthreatening destinations are capable of making a heck of a din. De Ligt’s status as one of the outstanding young players in Europe is likely to mean him joining Barcelona later this summer. On this occasion he was badly at fault for England’s goal and also had to endure being nutmegged by Jadon Sancho before heading in a corner to launch the Dutch fightback.
The volume was certainly turned up just after the half-hour mark when Marten de Roon turned the ball back to De Ligt in the Dutch penalty area. De Ligt’s status as one of the outstanding young players in European football is expected to lead to a transfer to Barcelona this summer. On this occasion he was badly at fault, taking his eye off the ball and allowing it to run under his foot.
Rashford was quick to anticipate the danger and De Ligt, in his desperation to save himself, was a split second behind as he lunged in with the attempted tackle. He missed the ball, took out the player and Rashford, an increasingly confident penalty-taker, composed himself to aim the kick beyond Jasper Cillessen.
Unfortunately for Rashford, he was hurt in the challenge from Dumfries that denied him a second goal. It was no surprise that he did not come back out for the second half, meaning the introduction of Harry Kane sooner than Southgate would have liked.
Sadly these England fans probably think they are doing their country proudSadly these England fans probably think they are doing their country proud
Southgate did not start with any of his players from Liverpool and Tottenham. That meant Raheem Sterling taking over as captain – for the first half anyway – from Kane on the evening the Manchester City player won his 50th cap. Rashford was injured in the first half, meaning Southgate brought on Harry Kane sooner than he would ideally have liked on a night when England’s manager did not start with any of his Champions League finalists from Liverpool and Tottenham.
Fabian Delph, who has not started a Premier League game for City since Boxing Day, was flanked by Declan Rice and Barkley in midfield, with Sterling and Sancho in the attacking wide positions and Rashford operating through the middle. Walker and Ben Chilwell both had the licence to push forward from their full-back positions and, in those moments, Rice tended to drop in between Stones and Harry Maguire, the two centre-halves. That selection meant Sterling taking over as captain – for the first half anyway – on the evening of his 50th cap. Fabian Delph, who has not started a Premier League game for Manchester City since Boxing Day, was flanked by Declan Rice and Barkley in midfield, with Sterling and Sancho in the attacking wide positions.
There were still imperfections, such as the moment early in the second half when Walker tried to run the ball out of defence, lost possession to Depay and was grateful Pickford was alert to keep out the shot. Walker and Ben Chilwell both had the licence to push forward from their full-back positions and, in those moments, Rice tended to drop in between Stones and Harry Maguire, the two centre-halves.
Chilwell was fortunate a few minutes earlier not to give away a penalty for a mistimed challenge on Steven Bergwijn and, late in the first half, De Ligt had a headed opportunity to change the complexion of his evening. Southgate cannot be criticised too heavily for trusting his players to play out of defence but sometimes a team can over-elaborate. At one point Walker lost possession to the alert Depay and was grateful Pickford kept out the shot. Frenkie de Jong was superb and England, once again, had fallen short.
Sancho should probably have done better with an unchallenged header from Delph’s cross but, as the game reached the hour mark, Ronald Koeman’s team were having a lot of the ball in encouraging positions. It paid off when De Ligt equalised with a powerful header.
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