For a long time, it was a reminder of what it used to be like with England, back in the days when the football seldom strayed above six out of 10, when the crowd had to make their own entertainment and the idea that this team could possibly come within one game of a World Cup final felt implausible, to say the least.
At least Gareth Southgate’s team had the strength of personality to change the complexion of the evening and, in the process, remove the paradox that, 62 days since that semi-final in Moscow, England might be about to set the unwanted record of having lost four games in a row for the first time in 146 years of competition. After the excitement of the summer, however, there were only sporadic moments, other than Marcus Rashford’s second-half winner, when England looked like a team that is capable of elite football.Perhaps that was just inevitable when the team fielded so many changes, with the inclusion of several players who could be excused for looking slightly rusty. The crowd seemed happy enough at the final whistle and, if nothing else, Rashford’s goal should soothe the team’s confidence ahead of their Nations League games in Croatia and Spain next month.
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