ENGLAND produced a ruthlessly efficient performance after sicking racial abuse overshadowed their demolition of Bulgaria. Ross Barkley was the star man but several of his team-mates also shone – including Raheem Sterling, a victim of the vile taunts, and Harry Winks. Marcus Rashford’s early goal, a Barkley brace, Sterling ‘s double and Harry Kane’s late […]
ENGLAND produced a ruthlessly efficient performance after sicking racial abuse overshadowed their demolition of Bulgaria.
Ross Barkley was the star man but several of his team-mates also shone – including Raheem Sterling, a victim of the vile taunts, and Harry Winks.
Marcus Rashford’s early goal, a Barkley brace, Sterling ‘s double and Harry Kane’s late strike put the Eastern Europeans to the sword.
Here, SunSport runs the rule over the Three Lions players after the 6-0 win in Sofia.
JORDAN PICKFORD: Picked up where he left off in Prague with smart early stop from Popov. Otherwise untroubled in the first half and a spectator for most of the second, too. 6
KIERAN TRIPPIER: Solid again, even winning some important headers. Then sprinted for his life in first-half stoppage time to help Kane set up Sterling. Repaid Southgate’s faith in him. 8
HARRY MAGUIRE: Shift to right-hand side of central defence didn’t faze him. Steady presence alongside his uncapped partner, but really didn’t have much to do against limited opponents. 6
TYRONE MINGS: Coped well on his debut, both with the limited Bulgarian threat and with the off-field bigotry. Did what he needed to do calmly and prepared to bring the ball out as well. 7
BEN CHILWELL: Danny Rose’s performance in Prague offered plenty of room for improvement and Chilwell did fine. A couple of shaky moments but nothing too alarming. Position is his for the taking. 6
JORDAN HENDERSON: Booked very early on for horrible foul on Hadzhiev but calmed down to play his part in England’s midfield dominance. Put in the hard yards, with the odd flash of creativity. 6
HARRY WINKS: Quietly effective as the midfield pivot in a pretty slick 4-3-3. Kept it simple, giving the defence an out-ball and trying to move it on forward whenever he could. Declan Rice, beware. 8
ROSS BARKLEY (Star man): His two goals were fitting reward for an excellent performance. Always available to receive the ball, he linked play crisply in the middle and final thirds. Grabbed his chance to shine. 8
RAHEEM STERLING: Started quietly, burst into life to tee up Barkley’s first and stuck it to Bulgarian bigots with a goal before half time and another to make it five. Looked fired up and in form. 8
HARRY KANE: Put in the hard yards, and showed his unselfish creative side with fine crosses to set up Barkley and Sterling, twice. Failed to convert four chances before finally scoring. 7
MARCUS RASHFORD: Justified his recall inside seven minutes with brilliant goal. Could have had a second in second half but kept making runs and this display should boost his confidence. 7
MASON MOUNT [for Barkley, 73] Unlucky to be dropped after tactical problems of Prague. Little time to make an impact. 6
JADON SANCHO [for Sterling, 73] Almost made an immediate impact as he had a chance at the start and end of his stint but may have to settle for more cameo roles after Rashford’s performance. 6
CALLUM WILSON [for Rashford, 76] Brought on in an unfamiliar wide role and but made the best of it – hit the post deep into injury-time. 6
NOT USED: Nick Pope, Dean Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Michael Keane, Joe Gomez, Declan Rice, Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham.
BULGARIA: Iliev 5; Pashov 4, Terziev 4, Sarmov 5 [Kraev 45, 4], Hadzhiev 4, Zanev 3; Despodov 6, Popov 6, Kostadinov 5, Wanderson 5 [Malinov 76, 5]; Isa 4 [Ivanov 6, 5].
