JOE HART: Commentators are always incredibly impressed __with a goalkeeper who does nothing for 80 minutes and then makes one save, as if professional sportsmen are just going to drop off or allow their mind to wander towards a lovely buffet breakfast or fluffy kittens. Hart did nothing and then he did something quite decently, which is exactly what we should expect from England’s No. 1 against a very limited side.
KYLE WALKER: “Considered pass by Walker…he just didn’t execute it,” said Clive at one stage but he really could have said it six or seven times because he had an awful lot of ball and yet did very little that worked. To have that amount of time to consider a cross eight times during a game and hit a team-mate only once (Daniel Sturridge, just before half-time) is very poor indeed.
The same thing happened to Walker in the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup when he failed to take advantage of his lack of defensive duties against San Marino, and Glen Johnson was the grateful recipient of the right-back slot. Will Nathaniel Clyne repeat the Liverpool full-back trick?
GARY CAHILL: We usually reach the end of 90 minutes to find we have written absolutely no notes about Gary Cahill, but this time I have ‘expected him to bury chance from corner’. What I should also add is that he was assured in his tackles, interceptions and clearances. The threat was minimal but that was at least in part because Cahill looked so comfortable. He should have buried that chance though.
JOHN STONES: He will have sweated more on ‘rest days’ at Manchester City. Almost played as an auxiliary midfielder and was faultless __with his long-range passing.
RYAN BERTRAND: Not one single pass went astray in his 18 minutes on the pitch. Flawless. And we feel really sorry for him.
JORDAN HENDERSON: At the 29th time of asking, we finally got a proper performance from Jordan Henderson in an England shirt. Huzzah. Yes, it was only Malta but somebody had to be the best player on the pitch and for once it was Henderson. He was at the centre of everything England tried to break down Malta, and it was fitting that he made both goals.
After two wonderful pieces of vision/execution to find first Jesse Lingard and then Dele Alli, the third – a pacey, whipped ball – was headed home by Daniel Sturridge for 1-0. His burst of pace made the second for Alli and that was typical of Henderson on a night when he always wanted the ball, always looked forward and always searched for a path through rather than being content to keep possession. Now do it again and again, fella.
WAYNE ROONEY: In the ball largely for his ‘observational’ skills, let’s look at what we observed. He gave the ball away twice in the first two minutes, he got away with what Glenn Hoddle calls “a good old-fashioned tackle” and what the rest of us call “a terrible foul”, he contrived to get nutmegged by a Malteser, he was at fault for Malta’s only shot at goal and he was usually the responsible party when an English full-back was scrambling to keep the ball on the pitch.
There were better moments – he tested the goalkeeper a couple of times – but if Wayne Rooney plays as a midfielder, then we should be judging him as a midfielder. And as a midfielder, against limited opposition that afforded him space, he came up short. Look how much better midfielder Jordan Henderson fared at being a midfielder.
DELE ALLI: I like Dele, I really do, but in his last few games for England, he has looked worryingly casual. Nobody should be getting dispossessed five times by Malta; nobody should be losing the ball a further three times with a poor touch. When contrasted with the energy and movement of Lingard, Alli looked a bit too comfortable with his England place. He should be gently reminded of the existence of Adam Lallana.
Scored once but really should have been a hat-trick; he hit the keeper with his header and then should have scored from a late chance created by Marcus Rashford. If we gave numbers, he would have been lucky to get a 7 despite the goal.
THEO WALCOTT: Came into the game in the form of his club career but it never quite clicked against Malta. Perhaps the impressive movement of Lingard did him no favours because Henderson in particular looked left rather than right with his incisive balls and it felt like Walcott was stuck operating in tight spaces which do not necessarily suit his strengths. A rare counter-attack should have suited him better but he misplaced his pass and the chance was gone. He did test the keeper with one effort but his early substitution was no surprise
DANIEL STURRIDGE: Took a fair bit of stick for dropping deep and wide to try and make things happen but honestly, if you want a striker to stand still in the box, don’t choose Sturridge. He has excellent feet in tight spaces and it’s a waste of his talents asking him to stand on the last man of a deep defence and wait for the ball to come to him. If England wanted a static finisher, they should have followed John Hartson’s advice straight outta 2005 and played Rooney as a No. 9.
He was guilty of fluffing his first chance after Alli’s header was saved but his guided header for England’s opener was sublimely controlled, and he then turned provider to set up Lingard for a chance with a lovely ball. It was a patchy night’s work but probably enough to see him retain his place for Tuesday. It might be an unpopular view but I actually prefer him to Harry Kane.
JESSE LINGARD: He never stops moving, does he? And while that might look a bit headless chickeny when you don’t have the ball (see Manchester derby), it looks wonderful when your midfield has the ball and they are looking for exactly that kind of movement. When I asked for movement, I didn’t even think about Lingard; that has to go down as an excellent shout from Gareth Southgate. The only thing missing was a goal but we forgive him. Walcott might not because he has been shown up.
SUBS
DANNY ROSE (on for Bertrand, 18): Honestly don’t remember anything about his performance so can only conclude that it must have been a 7/10. Well done, Danny.
MARCUS RASHFORD (on for Walcott, 68): There was good moments and there were not-so-good moments, which is exactly what we should expect from an 18-year-old. A cross that Alli should have buried was the best of Rashford, but a pull-back that missed everybody was the worst. I’m trying hard not to write ‘lively’ here but he certainly caught the eye more than the man he replaced in half the time.
JAMIE VARDY (on for Sturridge, 74): Touched the ball just 12 times in nearly 20 minutes and lost it twice with a poor touch. This was not a game for Jamie Vardy.
Sarah Winterburn