Djed Spence, Jude Bellingham & Elliot Andersonplaceholder image
Djed Spence, Jude Bellingham & Elliot Anderson | Getty Images
Rating every England player on the pitch for the crushing World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.
Maybe one day, it will be different. Maybe one day, England will get over the line. But it didn’t happen in Atlanta, and the Three Lions are once again heading home trophyless after their World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.
A combination of Lionel Messi’s late magic and the disastrous decision to sit deep and play out another rearguard action of the kind which had been enough to beat Mexico meant that a 1-0 lead was squandered, with Lisandro Martínez’s late header putting the final nail into a coffin which England built for themselves over the last half hour. Still, for once, there was no fall guy on the field – most of the players acquitted themselves well, and few would place the blame on anybody wearing the shirt.
Once again, we’ve given every England player marks out of 10 for their performance, to find out whose heads might just be a little higher than their peers on the flight home.
Spence shines in England’s semi-final defeat
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Jordan Pickford – 7/10: Jude Bellingham may have given Pickford an earful for failing to save Enzo Fernández’s equaliser, but there was precious little that the Everton goalkeeper could have done about it from his starting position and he had already done quite brilliantly to palm Nico González low header to safety as the pressure began to mount.
Djed Spence – 9: For an hour or more, Spence was the best player on the pitch. He seemed to cover every last inch of the left flank, repeatedly won possession, shut down a string of attacks, sparked a few of his own with some buccaneering runs, and was responsible an absolutely brilliant last ditch tackle on Giuliano Simeone which dealt with one of Argentina’s most dangerous moments. Left isolated and on his own against Messi at the death, he wasn’t able to shut down the moves which finished England off, but blaming Spence for that would be an absurdity. He was outstanding.
Marc Guéhi – 7: The Manchester City man did a fine job of getting himself in the right place at the right time until it all became chaotic at the end. Six ball recoveries is very impressive for a centre-back, and his use of possession was first rate. He simply wasn’t Johnny on the spot when it mattered the most in the dying minutes.
John Stones – 7: Stones won every header, every one-on-one, and completed every pass, while his seven clearances serve as testament to his positional strength. The decision to start him over Ezri Konsa was a mild surprise, but he proved Tuchel right – in that decision, at least.
Reece James – 6: A solid if not remarkably dynamic display from James until he began to fray around the edges, clearly not quite fully fit, towards the end. Had to be hauled off with a perhaps predictable injury with eight minutes left.
Anderson impresses as Kane & Bellingham fail to make their presence felt
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Declan Rice – 6: Restored to full health and the starting XI, Rice was strong in defence and let little past him, but wasn’t able to get the ball down and attack Argentina’s own midfield – and nor was he given many chances to bring his strength at set pieces to bear. Rice stuck to his task but didn’t shine.
Elliot Anderson – 8: Anderson, by contrast, has been among England’s best players at the World Cup and put in another immense display in the anchoring role. He won 13 one-on-one duels and seemed to crop up everywhere putting out fires and throwing himself about. He did get booked for a crunching tackle on Messi but otherwise handled Argentina’s less sportsmanlike tactics well, although his passing wasn’t quite as on point as it can be.
Anthony Gordon – 7: Gordon has been a bit of an unsung hero of this England team during the knockout rounds, and while he was frustrating in the first half – not entirely unexpectedly – he once again showed the combination of pace, composure and belligerence required to make something happen. His inch-perfect run and fine finish from Morgan Rogers’ cross allowed England to dream. For a little while, at least.
Jude Bellingham – 5: Bellingham put himself about and his work rate certainly can’t be criticised, but he was marked out of the game for long periods and couldn’t make a meaningful impact in the final third. England have leant on Bellingham and Kane, their star players, for so much of this World Cup, and it’s no coincidence that they went out in the one game neither showed up.
Morgan Rogers – 7: A surprise selection on the right flank, Rogers was bullish throughout and his ability to give England some natural, right-footed width down the wing proved useful when he set up Gordon’s goal. That was, however, the only real highlight reel moment.
Harry Kane – 5: Like Bellingham, Kane was kept eerily quiet by the Argentine back line. Denied space and time to get on the ball, England’s greatest ever goalscorer managed just one shot on goal in the entire match and was reduced to a largely peripheral role. As with Bellingham, he did at least show the willingness to put the hard yards in.
Substitutes struggle as Tuchel’s tactics fail
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Ezri Konsa (on for Gordon 72’) – 5: Tuchel’s decision to bring Konsa on for Gordon and switch to an ultra-defensive back three backfired spectacularly, and ceded control of the game to Argentina. That isn’t really Konsa’s fault, of course, but he did fail to take advantage of two good crossing opportunities as England made their late, desperate push for an equaliser which never came.
Nico O’Reilly (on for Rice 82’) – 5: O’Reilly didn’t have much time to make his presence felt in midfield, and wasn’t able to make himself much of a factor in the final 15 minutes as everything unravelled.
Dan Burn (on for James 82’) – 5: Burn was heroic against Mexico and titanic in his cameo against Norway, but sank against Argentina. The Newcastle man wasn’t able to get himself in the way of the crosses which were flung into the box – the reason he was on the pitch in the first place – and the final five minutes proved that he probably doesn’t have a career as a target man ahead of him either.
Marcus Rashford & Ivan Toney (on for Spence & Stones 90’) – N/A: The two forwards were hurled on in desperation and didn’t have time or opportunity to do anything of note.
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