Football Features

    Kane sets new record: Full player ratings as England cruise to Euro 2020 qualification

    By Harry Edwards

    Published: 21:44, 14 November 2019 | Updated: 13:54, 27 November 2019

    England confirmed qualification to Euro 2020 thanks to a 7-0 win over Montenegro on Thursday night.

    Harry Kane scored a hat-trick while Marcus Rashford, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Tammy Abraham also got among the goals, along with an own goal, to secure top spot in Group A.

    Here’s how the players rated at Wembley:

    England

    Jordan Pickford – 7 – Had a relatively quiet game but did have to rescue his defence on occasion, producing a wonderful save in the first half to deny Simic’s diving header. Also stopped Beciraj from scoring when one-on-one.

    Trent Alexander-Arnold – 9 – A wonderful game from the attacking right-back who caused Montenegro’s defence serious problems. Produced a good cross for Kane’s hat-trick goal, though it was slightly aided by a deflected. Was pushed into midfield for the final 20 minutes and did not look out of place – proving why many have tipped him for a position change.

    John Stones – 6 – Had a largely uneventful game with England in control, but there were moments of sloppiness in defence.

    Harry Maguire – 6 – Allowed Simic to get in front of him for his diving header following a corner and sometimes lacked the necessary communication with Stones. Saw his header from close range saved well in the build up to Rashford’s goal.

    Ben Chilwell – 10 – A hat-trick of assists for the left-back came in just 25 minutes. The first was a wonderful cross into the box for Oxlade-Chamberlain, weighted perfectly. Another beautiful cross came for Kane’s header before his corner found the England captain, completed the trio. Any arguments over who should be England’s starting left-back have surely been settled.

    Harry Winks – 8 – Made England tick in midfield with good passing and was allowed to control the play, quietly moving around the pitch wherever he was needed.

    Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 8 – A solid performance on his first start in 19 months. Showed just what he can bring to the England team with his passing and work off the ball. Opened the scoring with a driven low finish, beating the goalkeeper with the sheer power of his shot.

    Mason Mount – 6 – The Chelsea midfielder had a fairly quiet game, compared to the rest of his teammates but there were moments of promise. Thought he had scored his first England goal in the second half, but his tap-in was ruled out for a tight – but correct – offside.

    Jadon Sancho – 8 – An exciting game for the young winger, who was a constant thorn in Montenegro’s side. Got the assist his performance deserved late on, with a good cross put away by Abraham.

    Harry Kane – 10 – England’s captain will be hoping to play Montenegro every week after scoring a first-half hat-trick, moving him higher up the goalscoring charts. His first was a neat header, simply directing Chilwell’s cross into the net. A second header followed, but this time he should more aggression, getting ahead of his man from a corner. Completed the hat-trick with a finish from close range, beating Sofranac with smart reverse finish. Now sits sixth in England’s list of all-time top scorers.

    Marcus Rashford – 9 – Really bright going forward, looking full of confidence back in the England team. Perhaps should have scored early on when played through by Oxlade-Chamberlain, though he effort was well saved. Did get England’s fourth with a well-placed curling finish and played a big part in Sofranac’s own goal with a good driving run.

    Substitutes:

    Tammy Abraham (for Kane 56) – 8 – Looked eager to get on the scoresheet with Montenegro offering goals and got his strike late, beating the defender to finish Sancho’s cross.

    James Maddison (for Oxlade-Chamberlain 56) – 7 – On for his England debut, the Leicester man looked bright and gave Southgate’s side something different.

    Joe Gomez (for Mount 70) – 6 – Had very little to do after coming on, moving to right-back.

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    Montenegro

    Milan Mijatovic – 6 – Despite conceding seven goals, the goalkeeper was easily Montenegro’s best player. If it weren’t for him, England could have reached double figures, with Mijatovic making numerous good saves.

    Marko Vesovic – 4 – A bright spark going forward in the first half, testing England’s left. However, he was troubled by Rashford defensively and was unable to stop the rout. Switched over to the left at half-time but did not have much more luck.

    Aleksandar Sofranac – 3 – Had shown moments of good defending in the first half, producing a good block on Sancho’s early cross when Kane was lurking – though he was fortunate not to score an own goal. However, he did end up with an own goal to his name, tucking home after the ball pinged around the Montenegro box.

    Marko Simic – 3 – Part of the defence that fell apart, Simic really struggled to keep track of England’s attackers. Did have Montenegro’s best chance of the game with a diving header, but it was saved brilliantly by Pickford.

    Risto Radunovic – 2 – The left-back had a hard night up against Alexander-Arnold, Sancho and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Was caught flat-footed as Chilwell’s cross went over his head to Oxlade-Chamberlain for the midfielder’s goal, having given him too much space. Was taken off at half-time, which may have been a relief.

    Deni Hocko – 4 – Tried and failed to make an imprint on the midfield as England dominated the centre of the pitch. Did completed 100% of his 36 passes but they were of little use.

    Dusan Lagator – 3 – Struggled in midfield and did not help defensively, allowing Kane to get ahead of him from Chilwell’s corner as the English striker completed his hat-trick.

    Nikola Vukcevic – 4 – Busy on the ball but, like Hocko, could not do anything effective with it.

    Vladimir Jovovic – 3 – A largely quiet and ineffective game for the forward, as his side were overran, managing just one shot.

    Fatos Beciraj – 3 – Isolated in attack, managing just 27 touches of the ball. Should have pulled a goal back for Montenegro in the first half but he shot straight at Pickford when one-on-one.

    Sead Haksabanovic – 3 – Like the rest of his team, the forward struggled to cause England any real problems before being taken off.

    Substitutes:

    Momcilo Raspopovic (for Radunovic 45) – 4 – Performed slightly better than the man he replaced at half-time but that was arguably because England had taken their foot off the gas.

    Branislav Jankovic (for Jovovic 65) – 3 – Slotted into the midfield but barely got a touch of the ball in his 35 minutes on the pitch.

    Aleksandar Boljevic (for Haksabanovic 74) – 4 – Had very little luck after coming on.

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