England ratings: Young struggles; Trippier, Henderson shine

Oli Fisher

England were cruelly denied a place in the World Cup final as Croatia defeated the Three Lions 2-1 in extra time.

Keiran Trippier’s free-kick had given Gareth Southgate’s men the lead inside five minutes, but Ivan Perisic equalised before Mario Mandzukic netted in the first half of extra time.

RATINGS

Jordan Pickford: Left to mop up on a couple of occasions when poor back-passes or slack communication compromised him. Cannot be blamed for either of Croatia’s goals but most of his saves were regulation. 6

Kyle Walker: Bailed England out on a couple of occasions by spotting danger and sprinting to snuff it out. His defensive instincts are improving but when Croatia turned up the heat his confidence dipped. 6

John Stones: Rock solid in the first half, exemplifying England’s hunger by hurling his body in front of an Ante Rebic shot. It was different story after the break as he made poor passes and strange decisions as panic engulfed the back line. 6

Harry Maguire: Aerially dominant, as he has been throughout the tournament. Brought the ball up into midfield as the game opened up and will have grown immensely for his experiences here. 6

Kieran Trippier: The Bury Beckham had kids all over England dreaming of curling it like Kieran after opening his international account with a glorious free-kick. Started brilliantly in open play too but as guilty as anyone of leaving gaps in the second half. Carried off. 7

Ashley Young: A muted outing on the left flank, forced back by Rebic early on and never made an impact going forward. Never hit the required standard with his passing and replaced for extra-time. 5

Jordan Henderson: Seriously accomplished against high calibre rivals for an hour, driving England through the phases. His role changed when the defence lost their collective heads and he was tasked with dropping deeper to assist. 7

Jesse Lingard: Missed a glorious chance to put England 2-0 up having ghosted to the edge of the box unmarked. The Manchester United man kept showing for the ball and showed a great engine but sometimes appeared miscast attempting the work of a conventional midfielder. 6

Dele Alli: Made key contributions – winning the free-kick which England scored from and putting one on a plate for Lingard. A sharper operator out of possession than he is given credit for but Gareth Southgate wants him arriving in the box more often. 6

Raheem Sterling: Spooked Croatia, and Dejan Lovren, early on with his electric pace and eagerness to attack space. Could not turn that into anything clear cut and faded as the pressure increased in the second half. 6

Harry Kane: Dropped in behind Sterling for long periods, almost adopting the number 10 position. A tireless runner and target but the Golden Boot front-runner struggled for clear chances in open play. Nodded his best chance wide from a corner. 6

Substitutes

Marcus Rashford (for Sterling): Injected some much-needed momentum into a tiring team but could not make the difference. 6

Danny Rose (for Young): Eager to get involved and made a couple of useful runs but the team’s shape had gone. 6

Eric Dier (for Henderson): Summoned to keep things tight and bring a conservative eye to midfield. Could not keep Croatia out and ended up in defence. 5

Jamie Vardy (for Walker): A final throw of the dice, the Leicester man barely got a sniff. N/A