OUR 3️⃣ POINTS AS ENGLAND END EURO 2024 QUALIFYING WITH UNBEATEN RECORD

Changes were inevitable as England’s Euro 2024 qualification campaign wound down, as Harry Kane’s benching attested.

Gareth Southgate elected to rest his captain from the start in favour of allowing Ollie Watkins to lead the line in Skopje.

But with the visitors struggling to land a meaningful glove on their opponents, Kane was called upon as the cavalry.

Within 40 seconds of replacing Watkins, the Bayern Munich striker had helped his country level via Jani Atanasov’s deflection.

Kane’s introduction should not have been necessary to restore parity but that tells its own story of how badly England labour without him.

Southgate will not look back fondly on his side’s two most recent outings as much as the supporters who had to endure them both.

An unbeaten qualification record may have remained intact until the last, yet like the win over Malta, there was little to inspire confidence.

This was the first time England had failed to beat a low-ranked nation since they were held by Slovenia at the outset of Southgate’s tenure in 2016.

They have also been reliant on own goals in successive games for the first time since the 2006 World Cup campaign while being winless in back-to-back away outings since the dark days of Steve McClaren.

At a time when Southgate’s pedigree is increasingly under the microscope, he could have done without more damned statistics to compound it.

It’s fair to say that Rico Lewis will probably want to forget his senior England debut in a hurry.

A controversial VAR decision that saw the Euro 2020 finalists trailing at the interval is likely to be his abiding memory.

Yet Lewis still more than made the most of his opportunity in the spotlight after a mounting injury crisis at left-back.

The Manchester City teenager overcame his first-half misfortune to deliver an energetic and otherwise solid performance.

Hopes have been high for some time at the Etihad Stadium that Lewis is the next great hope to emerge from their production line.

And despite the headlines, the 18-year-old more than held his own on an otherwise testing night for his country.

Source: https://onefootball.com/en/news/our-3-points-as-england-end-euro-2024-qualifying-with-unbeaten-record-38594198