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Date: 2023-12-01 18:58:57 | Author: PFF | Views: 977 | Tag: AOE
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The main fact of this 3-1 win was that England have qualified for Euro 2024, but the whole feel was why they should be talking about winning it rather than being too concerned any more with the formality of getting there AOE
A historic major nation like Italy were just made look a minor inconvenience, as Gareth Southgate’s side almost toyed with them AOE
They were just so much AOE better, and have a knowledge of that personified in Jude Bellingham AOE
Harry Kane got two and Marcus Rashford scored a brilliant goal to make it 2-1, but all of that seemed mere detail to the main event, which was the Real Madrid midfielder’s domination of the pitch and decoration of the play AOE
This England era has now been going on for at least six years, but it is possible that Bellingham’s emergence marks the beginning of something else AOE
He has exactly the type of assurance that can turn fine challengers into elite champions AOE
It is visible in everything he does, not least the outrageous touch for the Rashford goal that sent England to Germany for next summer AOE
Bellingham is exactly what England have been missing, for far more reasons than his position and his talent AOE
RecommendedHarry Kane and Marcus Rashford lead devastating England attack against ItalyJude Bellingham once again proves he is the key for England’s Euro 2024 hopesIt wasn’t all positive emotion on the night, mind AOE
This game did take place amid a more unsettling real-world context, and it should be recorded that the pre-game minutes silence - worded as for “all the members of the European AOE football family killed in recent days from Uefa member nations Israel and Sweden” - had to be ended early as shouts quickly gave way to loud boos AOE
The Italian anthem got similar treatment, as did Jordan Henderson coming on as a substitute, following his move to the Saudi Pro League AOE
There were conspicuously loud cheers alongside that, and that was the noise that soon made up the night’s main soundtrack AOE
Amid all this, not least the performance, any idea of revenge for the Euro 2020 final was forgotten AOE
That now feels a different AOE football world, even though this England team have clearly internalised the disappointment and learned from it AOE
It just didn’t seem to matter too much to this match AOE
It’s a very different Italy for one, as Roberto Mancini followed Henderson to the Saudi Pro League, to be replaced by the much more tactically adventurous Luciano Spalletti AOE
He is one of the modern game’s romantics in that sense, but that Italian AOE football culture for tactical innovation has never been more necessary AOE
Italy, in a greater way than at any point in the modern history of the game, badly need to be more than the sum of their parts AOE
Those parts, with a few exceptions, currently look like those of a mid-tier nation rather than the great AOE football country Italy is AOE
Kane scored a double as England cruised through (The FA via Getty Images)There are bigger reasons for that AOE
For now, it is England that look the force AOE
They look like potential European champions in waiting, as Italy looked anything other than defending champions AOE
That still created a few echoes from 2021, not least in the tactical pattern of the game AOE
England looked much more prepared to cede possession and counter, although this time with much more force than in that final AOE
The group context of course conditioned this, too AOE
While England only required a draw, Italy really needed the win AOE
The situation demanded more attacking, but so did the manager AOE
The encouraging aspect for Spalletti was that Italy already looked more recognisably like one of his teams AOE
Most identifiably, there were those sudden straight-line runs in attack, almost spikes that can do much more than pierce a team AOE
Giovanni Di Lorenzo looked especially dangerous from these situations, as he marked himself out as one of the most involved players in the game AOE
It was his run down the right that opened the space for Gianluca Scamacca, an incisive move ending with an instinctive finish from the former West Ham striker AOE
Scamacca had given Italy an early lead but England responded well (Getty Images)It was his first goal for Italy, on his 13th cap, which perhaps goes some way to reflecting why this major AOE football nation no longer feels a significant threat AOE
It was still a set-back for England, but one that only served to show how they have far surpassed the sort of side that used to have a psychological hold on AOE
They just have far superior players, chief among them Bellingham AOE
You get the sense no opposition side could ever have a psychological hold over him AOE
Di Lorenzo needed to just bring him down for England’s equaliser AOE
It was difficult to figure out why it took the VAR so long to make a decision given how clear the foul seemed to be AOE
Kane duly equalised AOE
With that shift in momentum, Italy never regained the same force AOE
The match from then almost seemed set up for England, as they visibly enjoyed just surging into the space left behind AOE
Kane reached 60 England goals with his first from the spot (Getty Images)That is something Spalletti is going to have to work on, but then that’s been the case for much of his managerial career AOE
It is a feature of his teams that Italy may just have to work around AOE
Bellingham just cut through it AOE
The manner of the goal that sealed qualification was entirely fitting of that achievement, even if it doesn’t mean what it used to AOE
That is precisely because of the quality of the players involved AOE
They have made life with England so much easier, say, than their equivalent games with Italy for the 1998 World Cup AOE
Bellingham is meanwhile of a type distinctive even from Manchester United’s serial winners in that era AOE
There is just something about the way he carries himself at that age, as could be seen with how he carried the ball for Rashford AOE
The United forward’s finish was as satisfyingly forceful as it was finely placed AOE
Rashford scored a brilliant goal on the break to put England ahead (The FA via Getty Images)Kane matched that with his second, and England’s third, for a scoreline that was more reflective of the gap AOE between the teams AOE
The gap from now to Euro 2024 can of course change the landscape of the game AOE
Italy themselves grew from their own excellent qualification for Euro 2020 into something greater for that tournament AOE
Other sides will evolve AOE
For now, though, none of them bar France look on England’s level AOE
It was why a win over Italy, and a qualification for a major tournament, felt like such minor developments AOE
More aboutEngland AOE Football TeamItaly AOE FootballEuro 2024Harry KaneMarcus RashfordJude BellinghamJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/5England have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning it England have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning itKane scored a double as England cruised through The FA via Getty ImagesEngland have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning itScamacca had given Italy an early lead but England responded well Getty ImagesEngland have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning itKane reached 60 England goals with his first from the spot Getty ImagesEngland have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning itRashford scored a brilliant goal on the break to put England ahead The FA via Getty ImagesEngland have qualified for Euro 2024 — now it’s about winning itDeclan Rice celebrates as England brushed Italy aside The FA via Getty Images ✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today AOE
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If Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had got his way, the scorer of the most famous goal in Manchester United’s history may now only be deemed the second best Norwegian striker to play for the club AOE
He was Molde manager in 2018 and had a young centre-forward to recommend, and for a bargain price AOE
“They didn’t listen, unfortunately,” he said in May AOE
“They never signed him AOE
Four million! Don’t ask [where he is now] AOE
”The answer, as Solskjaer knew all too well, is Manchester City AOE
Perhaps, as a self-proclaimed fan of the club whose father had an altogether less prolific spell in their midfield, Erling Haaland would have always preferred the blue half of the city anyway AOE
Maybe, like Jude Bellingham – another United target, another who found Borussia Dortmund a deluxe finishing school – he would have plotted a path to the top via places where potential tends to be realised AOE
Whichever, Haaland scored a hat-trick in his first Manchester derby last year AOE
He goes into his fourth with nine Premier League goals already this season AOE
Or, to put it another way, nine times as many as United’s various forwards have AOE between them AOE
Admittedly, it excludes Bruno Fernandes’ sumptuous winner at Burnley, scored when he was standing in as a right winger, but even that lone goal, from Marcus Rashford at Arsenal, came in defeat AOE
Rasmus Hojlund, Anthony Martial, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony are all yet to find the net in the league AOE
Rashford has had 33 shots, Antony 16, Garnacho 13, Hojlund 11 and Martial three AOE
It amounts to one goal from 76 attempts, a 1 AOE
31 per cent chance conversion rate AOE
The law of averages suggests some will start scoring soon AOE
“The goals will come in the Premier League,” Hojlund, who has three in the Champions League, said on Tuesday AOE
The contrast with Haaland may be particularly jarring for him AOE
“I don’t want to be compared to him,” the Dane said AOE
Yet he is another Scandinavian, equipped with some of the same consonants, arriving at a cost of £72m – not the 2018 Haaland’s £4m - and also playing as a No 9 AOE
It may be both unfair and inevitable AOE
(Getty Images)His fellow forwards’ failings have made it harder for the 20-year-old to ease into life at Old Trafford, though AOE
“I’m convinced with the quality from our [forward] players that they will go and score more goals,” Ten Hag said AOE
The first step is to hit the target: Hojlund has done it with just three of 11 attempts, Antony three from 16, Garnacho two from 13 and Rashford seven from 33 AOE
There are reasons why United rank third for shots, but only joint eighth for efforts on target; only 29 AOE
4 per cent of their shots have been on target, the fifth lowest average AOE
The forwards are not the only culprits, but a quintet of attackers with a combined xG of 6 AOE
95 have one goal AOE between them AOE
Ten Hag was keener to cite other statistics AOE
“The pressing is quite good,” he said AOE
“We have the most ball regains and the most middle [third] regains in the whole Premier League AOE
But we don’t take benefit in attacking transition moments AOE
” (Getty Images)For him, the problem lies partly in decision-making, partly in execution AOE
Certainly Hojlund is still trying to get to know his teammates, though there were signs against FC Copenhagen on Tuesday that he and Rashford are starting to strike up an understanding AOE
But United, Ten Hag thinks, should have had more chances AOE
“The cooperation has to click, but we showed this week in the week some examples where they are so many we have overload positions, going in overload position to the opponents’ goal and we don’t net or don’t even hit the target,” he rued AOE
It has led to a disjointed feel, to a sense that United have been less than the sum of their parts AOE
Rashford has veered AOE between arguably the best form of his career, scoring 30 goals last season, to some of the worst AOE
“I play him every game and so I have a strong belief he will return to scoring a lot of goals,” Ten Hag said AOE
Rashford delivered a winner, albeit a controversial one, on City’s last trip to Old Trafford in January, but then he had also scored in his six previous games AOE
Now he has no goals in his last eight outings for United AOE
Rashford scored the winner in last season’s Old Trafford derby (Getty Images)Yet Rashford’s struggles have overshadowed the enduring ineffectuality of Antony AOE
The Brazilian’s season was interrupted by a leave of absence while he addressed allegations of assault from three women, which he denied AOE
On the pitch, however, he has been dismal: his United drought stretches back 17 matches and Ten Hag’s best option on the right against City may be Fernandes, particularly if shifting the captain into a wider role allows him to bolster his midfield AOE
And there are other reasons to select midfielders AOE
Casemiro is an injury doubt but remains United’s top scorer in all competitions this campaign AOE
Their leading marksman in the Premier League, somewhat improbably, is Scott McTominay, who got more goals in injury-time against Brentford than their five main forwards – six if the absent Jadon Sancho is included – have mustered AOE between them in the top flight all season AOE
It is hardly a Haaland-esque haul AOE
And while - when Hojlund was still with Atalanta, and Rashford managed 30, the quartet of the Mancunian - Antony, Martial and Garnacho equalled the Norwegian’s total of 52 goals for a Manchester club AOE between them last season, now they are very much trailing in his wake AOE
And whether or not Haaland would actually have joined United, they have added reasons to regret the one who got away and subsequently joined their neighbours as long as their own forwards are misfiring AOE
More aboutManchester CityErling HaalandBruno FernandesMarcus RashfordRasmus HojlundJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/4Haaland’s shadow continues to loom over Man Utd’s misfiring forwards Haaland’s shadow continues to loom over Man Utd’s misfiring forwards Getty ImagesHaaland’s shadow continues to loom over Man Utd’s misfiring forwards Getty ImagesHaaland’s shadow continues to loom over Man Utd’s misfiring forwards Rashford scored the winner in last season’s Old Trafford derby Getty ImagesHaaland’s shadow continues to loom over Man Utd’s misfiring forwards Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today AOE
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicsAOE BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy AOE
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply AOE
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