England ratings: Stones and Keane solid; Vardy bright

Oli Fisher
Jermain Defoe: Scores on England return

England were uninspiring overall, but made it four wins out of five in World Cup 2018 qualifying as they beat Lithuania 2-0 at Wembley.

Jermain Defoe gave England the lead after just 20 minutes, but there were a couple of scary moments as the home side struggled to put Lithuania to bed.

Jamie Vardy did add a second goal off the bench to kill off the resistance in what was not the most convincing of performances, but still three points.

 

Starting XI

Joe Hart: Didn’t have much to do but was nearly caught way off his line for what would have been an equaliser, but did make a good low save. 6

Kyle Walker: Was one of the brighter players. Always looking to get forward and use his pace. 7

Michael Keane: Wasn’t tested much but still a useful outing for the talented defender. Great in the air. 7

John Stones: A huge part of Stones’ game is confidence, and he is starting to build that. Another solid performance. 7

John Stones: England defender praised by Roy Hodgson

Ryan Bertrand: Has filled in well for the absent Danny Rose. Looked good when going forward. 7

Eric Dier: Should have added a third with a header from a corner. Difficult to determine what his best position is. Didn’t stand out against a poor team. 6

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Seemed a little bit rushed and nervous but grew into the game. 6

Raheem Sterling: Fed Defoe for the opener but other than that was wasteful with his end product, again. 6

Dele Alli: Tried but nothing seemed to go his way. Seemed to get frustrated early and made bad decisions as a result, but took a bit of a battering. 6

Adam Lallana: Wonderful assists for Vardy’s goal. Ran tirelessly but fell victim to being crowded out sometimes. Still dynamic. 7

Jermain Defoe: Provided energy and intelligent runs. Deserved to get his goal, good performance on his return. 8

Jermain Defoe: Scores opener for England

Substitutes

Jamie Vardy (for Defoe, 59 mins): Came on and exploited a tiring defence well. 7

Marcus Rashford (for Sterling, 59 mins): Expected more involvement; missed a good chance. 6