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England player ratings: Who impressed in dramatic Nations League win over Croatia?

Written by on 19/11/2018

England booked their place in the inaugural Nations League finals with a stunning late 2-1 victory over Croatia on Sunday.

Harry Kane and Jesse Lingard completed the dramatic turnaround with goals in the final 12 minutes at a jubilant Wembley, relegating World Cup semi-final opponents Croatia 130 days on from that night in Moscow.

Here we give each England player a rating out of 10 for their performance…

Jordan Pickford – 6

Fortunate not to concede inside three minutes when he rushed off his line but recovered well. Played out from the back well under pressure, was solid throughout when called upon and could do nothing with Croatia’s deflected opener.

Kyle Walker – 6

Created just one chance as his influence in attack was diminished by defensive duties, notably keeping tabs on Ivan Perisic.

John Stones – 7

Silky on the ball throughout, Stones racked up 85 passes throughout the 90 minutes and was a constant threat in the opposition’s box. Blocked four Croatian efforts on goal

Joe Gomez – 7

Read the game well to limit Croatia to few chances. Long throw into the box led to Lingard’s equaliser.

Ben Chilwell – 7

Continued his seamless adaptation to international football after left-back. Was rarely exposed and set up Kane for the winner.

Eric Dier – 7

Put out fires in midfield, paying particularly close attention to Luka Modric. Kept things ticking over and gave license to attacking players to roam forward.

Ross Barkley – 6

Kept things neat and tidy without setting the world alight. Picked up England’s only booking for hacking Modric to ground in the first half. Was substituted on 63 minutes.

Fabian Delph – 7

A surprise inclusion in midfield but vindicated his selection with an industrious performance. On another day, he would have had a couple of assists to his name.

Raheem Sterling – 7

A constant threat on the counter and crucially found another gear when Croatia took the lead. Given his recent form, you expected the net to bulge when played through on goal in either half.

Marcus Rashford – 7

Failed to register a single effort on goal before leaving the field injured on 73 minutes, but supported Kane brilliantly with a host of rapid counters which gave Croatia real problems in defence.

Harry Kane – 8

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. When England need a goal you want a chance to fall to Kane, whatever form he’s in, and that was evident with his winning goal. Undeterred from his first-half miss he was in the right place at the right time and found the right finish.

Substitutes

Jesse Lingard – 7

Injected pace and skill just as England appeared to be running out of ideas against a stubborn Croatia side. Time his run perfectly to tap home the equaliser.

Jadon Sancho – 6

Completed all of his passes and petrified the Croatia defence in his 17-minute cameo with a number of fleet-footed ventures into opposition territory.

Dele Alli – 6

A surprise omission from the starting line-up but played his part in England’s late comeback, as his forays forward prevented Croatia from relieving pressure.

(c) Sky News 2018: England player ratings: Who impressed in dramatic Nations League win over Croatia?