England U20’s made it 15 games without a win in the World Cup, dating back to 1997 when a solitary Michael Owen strike defeated Mexico, as they drew with Chile. The 1-1 draw isn’t a disaster by any stretch of the imagination but a poor result in the context of qualifying from the group. The game itself encapsulated everything that is wrong with English football but highlighted some of the positive aspects as well.
After Harry Kane’s equalising strike, Peter Taylor’s side took the game to Chile and played some lovely football, with Ross Barkley as the fulcrum. This was a stark contrast to the first half display however where Chile enjoyed over 60% of the possession. It ended 1-0 to Chile at half time and although the South Americans didn’t create a host of chances they gave England a lesson in how to look after the ball and played it around them like it was an exhibition match.
Inside the opening 10 minutes, Mario Salas’ side showed how they keep the ball so well. On a number of occasions they would be pushed into a corner and it would appear the only option for them would be to boot the ball out for a throw. Alas for England they never chose that option. Each time the Chile defence passed their way out of trouble or dribbled past England’s attackers to get out of safety with the ball. They continued to do this throughout the 90 minutes.
England on the other hand, time and time again hoofed the ball forward aimlessly or to Harry Kane in the hope he would bring the ball down. It wasn’t until the 19th minute when England showed a small glimpse of what they could do. Middlesbrough Luke Williams exchanged a lovely 1-2 with Liverpool’s Conor Coady.Then with the outside of his boot, Williams passed into Ross Barkley’s path. The Everton man had aches of space in front of him and progressed with the ball before finding Kane.
Kane unfortunately dribbled the ball out of play but the interchange between Williams and Coady shows England can play the ball out. Manchester United’s Ángelo Henríquez was one of Chile’s standout stars, shortly before winning the penalty, he cut inside Ward-Prowse but fired over. A feature of his play was faking to cross/shot and then ghosting past his marker and he has done exactly that in the 31st minute. Henríquez skipped inside Coady and Dan Potts put an arm on the forwards shoulder before trying to win the ball from a near on impossible angle.
Potts is only 19-years-old but you would have expected him to know not to dive into a tackle from behind. After the highly rated Nicolás Castillo sent Sam Johnstone the wrong way, Chile seemed to retreat somewhat. They hadn’t been all guns blazing at any point during the first half but seemed happy to keep possession and remain patient. In the 35th minute the possession stats didn’t make good reading for England. Chile had dominated with 63% but the English youngsters were creating opportunities.
Barkley curled an effort wide from outside the area, before Kane had a double shot blocked from a tight angle but this was enough to offer England hope. A big difference between the two sides in the first half was the pressing from Chile. England’s defenders had no time on the ball, thus forcing them to aim long, where as Chile defenders always had more time on the ball. The movement of the players in front of them helped, but England’s pressing wasn’t up to scratch.
The second half started with a similar pattern to how the first ended, with Chile happy to play the waiting game and England not committing enough to create clear-cut chances. One of the three Lions better players in the first half was Luke Williams but surprisingly he was substituted for Tottenham’s Alex Pritchard in the 62nd minute. Minutes after his introduction and another Spurs star grabbed the equaliser for England.
Ross Barkley received the ball just inside Chile’s half and run at their defence, before releasing Harry Kane. Kane instinctively took a touch inside before impressively firing into the bottom corner to make it 1-1. It was a fantastic finish from the forward and a thoroughly deserved one for his display. Barkley was the architect for that goal and was now at the root of all things good for England.
Moments after Kane’s strike, Barkley weaved his way into the box before turning his marker, but unfortunately shot to close to Dario Melo. England were full of confidence now and pressing from the front, forcing Chile to hit more (not many) long balls forward. Chile were still creating chances however, and Bryan Rabello had a shot deflected just wide of England’s goal.
England then had their golden chance, with two substitutes linking up brilliantly. Harry Kane chipped into sub Larnell Cole’s path. His chested touch took him away from goal but the Manchester United player managed to dig out a cross but Pritchard failed to score as Melo made a fantastic save. Pritchard, one of the stars of the NextGen series, really should have scored, but his header was straight at the Chile keeper and it stayed 1-1.
Seville’s Rabello then nearly made them pay. The diminutive midfielder unleashed an unstoppable strike from 30-yards out but it smacked off the crossbar. It ended 1-1 in the end to leave Chile with four points and virtually assure them of a place in the next round. Whilst for England, they’ll need to defeat Egypt in the final round of matches to ensure they progress as runners up or to finish as one of the highest 3rd placed teams.
The second half performance will bring encouragement to Peter Taylor but the overriding feeling is that unless England improve their ball retention they’ll never be able to compete at this level, let alone at senior level.