The omission of John Stones from the back four nearly went unnoticed but it is hugely significant when he is the one defender capable of improving a team striving to play a higher standard of possession football. He told me just before training on Friday. “I think it is a significant goal but for many different reasons”. It’s just one of those things. “We have three matches at home and one away, so we have a great chance of qualifying”. Northern Ireland improved their grip on second place as the Czech Republic dropped four points behind after being held to a 1-1 draw in Norway. “It looked like we were going to win the game and then like we were going to lose when 2-1 down in stoppage time. To concede is disappointing, to say the least”.
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But while England played Scotland on Saturday, Wilshere was on his stag weekend having had his season ended by yet another injury, after another disappointing campaign, on loan to Bournemouth where he ended up benched, and unwanted by Arsenal.
However, its lead at the top of Group F was cut to 2 points as Slovakia won 2-1 in Lithuania. “Obviously he’s only had four or five games back, so we’re going to have a think about exactly how we want to approach that game”. There is certainly a lot to build on and a lot of confidence to take into the next game. “If you can leave memorable moments then you have given something to the game”. I don’t see why not. You can’t do any more than they did.
“The way the game panned out, it was a good point for us”.
After 12 matches without an worldwide goal, Armstrong’s club team-mate Leigh Griffiths broke his duck in style.
As the ball nestled in the bottom corner of Joe Hart’s net courtesy of Leigh Griffiths’s second exquisite free-kick, every last one of us, well maybe not the English lads, were on our feet, both shape and sense completely lost, roaring in glorious joy and utter disbelief that something wonderful had just happened right in front of our eyes.
“I’ve a feeling we might have been sitting here talking about how long it was since he last scored for England if he hadn’t scored”.
“Part of what we have to do is to make good decisions when teams come at us and throw the ball forward and put us under pressure”. “To be fair to him, he’s stuck two
fantastic free-kicks at the death”.
That it is not so bad given they are two players who have won major honours with their clubs domestically and in Europe this term. I have a steady mind and I know my ambitions.
“That’s my personality, hate it or love it, that’s who I am. To do it twice in such a pressurised situation is brilliant – he should be very proud of himself”.
Griffiths was so close to becoming a national hero. I also talked to him privately after the game about the previous match that we played. He provided a lot of help to the midfield, coming back and making interceptions, winning fouls and giving us a breather.
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With worldwide management, the issue is often just improvising with the qualities of your squad as much as impressing with the qualities you have as a coach, and it was a puzzle that was all too pronounced for Gareth Southgate this week as he continues to try and find systems that optimise exactly what England have.
