GARETH SOUTHGATE'S message to his players this week was simple: you are only as good as your last game.
If that is the case, then England are in trouble. Stilted in attack and stretched in defence, last night's draw with North Macedonia exposed their over-reliance on their two best players.
For all the talk about England's enviable riches and wealth of talent, it was concerning quite how much they missed Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane.
Until Kane stepped off the bench and forced an equaliser 40 seconds later, England laboured again here in Skopje.
It feels a long time ago since Bellingham and Kane helped put Italy to the sword at Wembley in October to seal a place for England at Euro 2024.
Without Bellingham's pressing intensity, ball-winning and goal threat, England have looked decidedly flat and one-paced in their past two matches, with last night's draw showing no real improvement from Friday's turgid 2-0 home win over Malta.
While Bellingham was already a starter at the World Cup last winter, 2023 has seen him emerge not only as Real Madrid's newest Galactico but as a leader for England.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 21, 2023 من Evening Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة November 21, 2023 من Evening Standard.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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