This is what happens when Harry Kane – in the form of his life – is forced to kick up his heels on the bench. Once unchained, the result was instantaneous; The England captain forced an equalizer 40 seconds after his introduction.
It would have been an own goal from North Macedonian midfielder Jani Atanasov, but Kane’s presence sent him into a panic as he darted towards Phil Foden’s corner just before the hour mark.
So England took something away from the final game of an excellent Euro 2024 qualifying campaign; Their progress was never in doubt from the moment they defeated Italy in their opening tie in Naples. Fortunately, the goal also provided some distraction for referee Filip Glova, who had one of those evenings that was impossible to ignore, mostly for the wrong reasons.
Relating to: Harry Maguire’s struggles are stretching loyalties and could cost England | Jacob Steinberg
Glova gave a penalty to North Macedonia towards the end of the first half, shaking up Rico Lewis and England, the first player who came to fill the problematic left-back position. Enis Bardhi scored from the rebound after saving the penalty kick. After prodding from VAR, Glova ruled that Lewis had put his hand in Bojan Miovski’s face as he won the header. This wasn’t Glova’s only overly hasty intervention.
The match was a failure after that, with England far from perfect but still better than last Friday’s Wembley 2-0 win over Malta. They finished the calendar year with eight wins and two draws in 10 matches. As everyone knows, how they will complete the season will be discussed at the European Championship in Germany.
North Macedonia were initially determined to let England know they would be in a physical battle, and the constant nipping at Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish in particular was both tiring and tested the wingers’ temperaments. Gareth Southgate threw up his arms in disappointment.
Glova was too much of a central figure for anyone’s liking and had two decisions to make at the other end of the first half; North Macedonia was screaming for a penalty every time. He ignored the first one and gave the second one, which felt wrong every time, but did that mean it was right? Let’s start with the first, which was the turning point of the first half, as England had dominated by that point, with Ollie Watkins starting ahead of Kane taking a couple of sniffs and Declan Rice firing a low shot through the crowd. and against the far post.
In the 23rd minute there was no danger of Harry Maguire getting on the ball and then in the blink of an eye he passed it directly to Miovski who passed the ball to Eljif Elmas. Cue the one-on-one challenge between Maguire and Diamond, Maguire’s challenge is clumsy to say the least. He appeared to lose his balance and plunged into Diamond; Shades of Boris Johnson in Soccer Aid. Glova gave Maguire the serious benefit of the doubt.
In the next game it was Lewis who headed away from North Macedonia’s left and clearly won the ball. So why was Aberdeen striker Miovski lying on the ground? It turned out that Lewis had put his hand on Miovski’s face with his levered, leaping arm. On the advice of VAR, Glova checked the pitchside monitor and, after much thought, pointed to the spot. This was a ridiculously harsh decision. North Macedonia captain Bardhi saw Jordan Pickford save his shot but gobble up the rebound. Miovski was the toast of all Scotland. England had everything to do.
Relating to: ‘There was no blame’: Southgate praises Lewis after ‘brilliant’ England start
England’s 7-0 victory over North Macedonia at Old Trafford in June was a key part of the backdrop. This was the heaviest defeat in North Macedonia’s history and there was little doubt that they were motivated to show that they were more than that. They did so.
Southgate’s starting XI was progressive, with Trent Alexander-Arnold remaining in midfield; No Kalvin Phillips, so no double bolt with Rice. Particularly notable at the start was how Lewis played inside when England had the ball; sometimes high. Lewis could almost see the headlines in the first race when he broke free halfway into the corner. The first shot was crazy. VAR did not deserve his moment of misfortune.
The draw for the Euro 2024 finals will be held in Hamburg on 2 December at 17:00 (GMT) and the 24 teams will be divided into six groups.
Germany They have automatically qualified as hosts and will be placed in pot 1 along with the five teams with the best qualifying records – Portugal, France, Spain, Belgium And England.
Pot 2 will include other group winners – Denmark, Hungary, Albania, Türkiye/Croatia And Romania/Switzerland – and the second highest ranked, Austria.
Pots 3 and 4 will feature the other nine group runners-up and three play-off winners. Scotland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Netherlands, Italy And Serbia They all booked their seats.
play-offs Three four-team qualifiers this Thursday will give the 12 teams who enter the ‘track’ another chance to qualify. Play-off places and routes are based on performances in the Nations League.
Road A Poland, Estonia, Croatia/Wales
Road B Israel, Bosnia, Finland/Ukraine/Iceland*
Road C Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan and Luxembourg
*The lowest ranked Path B team will move on to Path A
The all-seeing technology would put England out of action at the start of the second half. The first period ended with Alexander-Arnold extending Stole Dimitrievski from distance and now England equalized with some fine work from Saka on the right wing. He dodged two challenges and cleared his cross before the third could catch him. Grealish flicked the ball to the far post but it would be withdrawn for offside.
England remained composed and their chances immediately improved with Kane on the field. This was a huge opportunity for Watkins, and one that he ultimately failed to capitalize on. He was peripheral, touching the ball only 11 times.