England look lame without star names on the pitch

Reliance on Kane, who made an immediate impact, and Bellingham is a major concern

- Dom Smith 

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.