ENGLAND'S LEADERS TURN UP WHEN IT MATTERS MOST AFTER WRETCHED SLOVAKIA DISPLAY

Gareth Southgate and England love a leadership group but for over an hour and a half of an utterly dreadful performance, the group was missing.

And three prominent members - Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham - were nowhere to be seen. Or as good as nowhere to be seen. If you did catch a glimpse, they looked ponderous, nervous and clueless.

But even in the most dire of sporting situations, leaders have deep wells of resolve, deep wells of defiance, deep wells of determination. And, more importantly, they have a muscle memory that lifts them above the run-of-the-mill player.

How else can you explain Bellingham’s extraordinary equaliser deep into injury-time? How else can you explain Kane’s predatory winner early in extra-time? Let’s be honest, Kane had been terrible in regulation time. If, as he claims, he really is fully fit and his back is not giving him any grief, it is hard to explain why he has developed the turning circle of an oil tanker.

For large parts of England’s campaign, Kane’s movement has been laboured, to say the least. For large parts of England’s campaign, it has been excruciating to watch him. Yet he has now scored twice, the second securing England’s place in the quarter-final.

And it was all about instinct and all about never thinking your chance was never going to come. That is leadership for you. Rice has played 127 matches for club and country in the past two years and, for most of this contest, it showed. That ludicrous workload had suddenly hit him with sledgehammer force, it seemed.

The Schalke pitch was dry and bumpy to the eye but treacle to Rice. Yet, somehow, he refilled his lungs and became a defensive midfielder with a shield and a sword, taking responsibility by hunting down most Slovakians that moved. That is leadership for you.

And what can you say about Bellingham, the Ballon D’Or contender who already has golden balls? There are some who have questioned his attitude in this tournament, some who suggest he might have gone a little bit big-time. The problem is he IS big-time, 21 on Saturday and already in that ultra-elite bracket of players.

And when he does not perform to the standard of that bracket of players, it is painfully obvious. Painfully obvious to us, painfully obvious to him - that is why he spent so much time showing his frustration, shouting at team-mates, waving his arms at the bench, moaning at the referee.

But Southgate leaves him on the field for a reason. Bellingham’s penchant for decisive late goals in massive games is becoming a real thing. Just ask Barcelona. And that is because he has such composure and, more significantly, a towering self-belief - a towering self-belief the likes of which we have not seen in English football for some time.

Seriously, who else would scream ‘WHO ELSE?’ after scoring an equaliser of such brilliance and such importance? That is leadership for you. If you care to forensically examine this game in its entirety, the contribution of the substitutes will be highlighted. Rightly so.

Ivan Toney gave a physically imposing attacking presence that had been missing, Cole Palmer kept possession in forward areas in a way that showcased his Manchester City education and Eberechi Eze produced a really intelligent cameo.

Jordan Pickford also deserves a mention for being the loudest, angriest, yet, somehow, calmest man on the pitch. That is some achievement. But when England needed them most, the leaders who had been missing were the ones that saved their manager’s skin … and a nation’s hopes.

‌ Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

2024-07-01T04:34:12Z dg43tfdfdgfd