Roy Keane thinks England were ‘complicating the game’ as they ‘fell back into their old ways’ against Andorra on Saturday.
Thomas Tuchel’s side brushed their opponents aside at Villa Park, winning 2-0 thanks to a Christian Garcia Gonzalez own goal and a second-half Declan Rice header.
Rice’s goal came from a moment of individual brilliance by Reece James, who delivered a perfect cross from the right, instead of merely recycling possession.
Against such inferior opposition, England should be taking more risks. If they lose the ball, they will instantly win it back, or force Andorra into booting the ball out of play or to Jordan Pickford.
These fixtures are painfully unwatchable, and Keane’s suggestion that the Three Lions’ sideways and backwards passing represents the ‘England of old’ is just not true. If anything, it’s all they have been in these fixtures over the last four years.
Underwhelming against 11 men behind the ball, parking the bus on the edge of their own box, under Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions are perhaps even more uninspiring in these fixtures with Tuchel in charge.
At least Tuchel is openly critical after these performances, singling out Marcus Rashford and Ebere Eze after Saturday’s win at Villa Park.
These games are borderline unwatchable and feel like a complete waste of time for everyone involved. Seriously, who needs England to play Andorra to help determine who goes to a major tournament? It’s bloody pointless, except for fans wanting to see their favourite players in the flesh for the first time. Or in this case, Aston Villa fans seeing their players don the England kit in their stadium.
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Tuchel had no reason to look delighted after the dull win, and Keane fears England are slipping back into their old ways. If by ‘old ways’ he means the last international break in June, then he’s spot on.
“The manager didn’t look too happy at the end,” he said on ITV.
“He’ll be frustrated again with the second half. We’re on about setting high standards, getting good habits.
“I still think England fell back into their old ways tonight, certainly in the second half. Sidewards, backwards passes.
“We saw their two goals, particularly the second one, just from a cross. They’ve got to cross it a bit more, don’t complicate the game. And I still think they go backwards too many times.”
It’s hard to disagree with the last part. Whip it in a bit more, lads. Shoot from long range; test the goalkeeper. Harry Kane is probably the best player in the world when it comes to leaping on a goalkeeper parrying the ball into danger.
A positive for England during this break is the emergence of debutant Elliot Anderson, who looked comfortable at Villa Park after admitting he was “nervous” when he arrived at St George’s Park for his first senior camp.
“He’s just a very, very good football player,” Tuchel said after the game. “He has the physicality, he’s a very mobile No 6, he loves to defend, he loves to put his body inside, he loves passing, he loves to break the lines, he’s just very mobile in this game, it was a pleasure to see.
“It was a bit of a nervous start into the week, which is also nice to see, that not everything is normal for the guys. They’re still nervous to come to camp, and I’m not afraid to admit it, that they were a bit nervous, but very quickly he adapted to the quality and then we thought, why not give him the stadium straight away?
“I think the team around him made it as easy as possible for him, and he had a very strong performance.”
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