Difficult decisions lurk for England manager Gareth Southgate

With players missing through injury, Southgate could potentially have to whittle a squad of 40 probables down to 23 for next year's European Championship

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  ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford – 5: Caught in no man’s land when he needlessly came out to edge of box in run-up to Walker giving away first-half penalty. Woeful late free kick that failed to make it past the first man when England needed ball pumped into box, summed up the Everton goalkeeper at the moment. AFP

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  Kyle Walker – 6: One lovely cross-field ball to Phillips in first half but then failed to deal with header across the box from teammate Coady before giving away foul that resulted in penalty - which, to be fair to the Manchester City man, was harsh. Completely lost Wass in second half and was relieved to see Dane head over. Looked very uncomfortable when switched over to left-hand side. AFP

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  Conor Coady – 8: Has settled straight into international football. Voice was always booming out around an empty Wembley Stadium. Perfectly timed tackle at near post to deny Dolberg almost certain goal in first half. Nearly scored his second goal for England but saw his header blocked in last minute. AFP

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  Harry Maguire – 2: Awful challenge on Poulsen saw him booked after just five minutes, then rightly shown a red on half-hour mark for needless sliding tackle on Dolberg. Manchester United centre-half having a miserable start to season for club and country. Confidence now shot to pieces. AFP

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  Reece James – 7: Excellent crosses into the box from the right in the first half which England failed to take advantage of. Great control and touch to set himself up in second half but his left-foot shot was straight at keeper. Had free-kick comfortably tipped over by Schmeichel. Blotted copy book with red card for dissent after final whistle. AP

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  Kalvin Phillips – 5: Lost Dolberg from corner in first 10 minutes but recovered to deflect shot wide. Caught in possession by Eriksen with 15 minutes to go which almost helped gift Denmark a goal. Daft booking late on and, unlike Coady, has yet to convince on international stage. AFP

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  Declan Rice – 6: Good ball into middle from deep to Mount in the penalty area on half hour that saw Chelsea midfielder set-up Kane with a chance. Sprayed a few good passes around but playing Rice alongside Phillips means England lack a creative edge in centre of the park. Getty

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  Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 6: Arsenal man sacrificed in first half as England reshuffled their pack after Maguire red card and England lost only left-sided player. Getty

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  Mason Mount – 6: Always busy and trying to make things happen, but final ball needs to improve. Must have thought he’d scored with a second-half header only for Schmeichel to produce wonder save. AP

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  Marcus Rashford – 5: A couple of speculative shots from distance that didn’t trouble Schmeichel. Sloppily lost possession in first half sending Denmark on counter-attack but Eriksen wasted opportunity. AFP

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  Harry Kane – 6: Half chance midway through but couldn’t find his feet to get shot away. Spurs striker not his usual attacking threat in opening period when James fired over several excellent balls that he would normally gobble up. Fine cross to set up Coady near the end but generally cut a frustrated figure up front. AFP

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  SUBS: Tyrone Mings – (On for Maitland-Niles 36’) 6: Aston Villa player slotted confidently in the centre of defence after being called-on early doors due to Maguire’s horror show, although was lucky to get away with a couple of poor touches. Reuters

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  Dominic Calvert-Lewin - (On for Rashford 72’) 5: Needed longer on pitch to make an impact. AFP

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  Jadon Sancho - (On for Mount 73’) 5: Should have been brought on earlier to give England some attacking spark in midfield. AFP

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  Jordan Henderson – (On for Rice 76’) N/A: Liverpool midfielder booked soon after coming on. AFP

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  DENMARK RATINGS: Kasper Schmeichel - 8: Comfortable stop from long-range Rashford shot was the only time he had to make a save in opening half. First time he was seriously called into action, the Leicester man produced a fabulous one-handed stop to stop Mount scoring just after hour mark. PA

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  Daniel Wass – 6: Full-back always looking to get forward down the right and take up attacking positions. Handed glorious chance to make it 2-0 in second half only to head over. PA

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  Simon Kjaer – 7 Playing his 100th game for Denmark, centre-half gave away needless corner under no pressure in first half that England wasted. It was his long ball into box led to Denmark winning penalty. Vital block denied Coady late leveller. AP

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  Andreas Christensen – 7: Some well-timed challenges and blocks by the Chelsea defender. Needless booking for hauling back Kane in first half that saw him substituted at the break as Danes looked to maintain their one-man advantage. PA

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  Robert Skov – 6: Like Wass on opposite flank, was always looking to bomb forward from left-back in first half. Had decent game but was hooked at half-time. Getty

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  Thomas Delaney – 6: Caught out by Mount down left early in game and was lucky Chelsea man couldn’t keep feet before crossing. Foul on Kane on edge of box handed great chance to England that they failed to capitalise on. Getty

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  Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 6: Booked for reckless kick on Spurs teammate Kane that will see midfielder banned for next Denmark game. Was constantly snapping away at English heels. PA

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  Yussuf Poulsen – 7: Victim of really poor challenge by Maguire for England defender's first booking. Perfect low cross from right almost set-up Dolberg for early goal. Fired low shot straight at Pickford with 10 minutes left. A menace to England throughout and his theatrics helped get Phillips booked in second half. PA

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  Christian Eriksen – 8: Inter midfielder, also earning his 100th cap, pulled the strings for Denmark. Blazed high and wide after 18 minutes when Denmark launched quick counter-attack. Made no mistake when he cracked home from the spot for his 34th international goal. Almost set up second for Sisto in second half. PA

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  Martin Braithwaite – 5: Barcelona attacker failed to make his mark at Wembley and was well shackled by England. AFP

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  Kasper Dolberg – 7: Had early chances; denied by Coady tackle once then had shot deflected into side netting by Phillips. Limped off in first half after challenge by Maguire that resulted in England man’s red card. Shame, as he had looked lively. AP

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  SUBS: Pione Sisto – (on for Dolberg 37’) 5: Set up with great chance by Eriksen to make it 2-0 only to make right hash of shot. Getty

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  Mathias Jorgensen – (On for Christensen 46’) 7: Helped keep England’s chances to a minimum. AFP

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  Joakim Maehle - (On for Skov 46’) 6: No problems after coming on at left-back. PA

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  Jannik Vestergaard - (On for Braithwaite 74’) 6: No chance to make impact. AP

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  Mathias Jensen – (On for Hojbjerg 88’) N/A. AFP

Friendlies tend to offer an opportunity to investigate. For Gareth Southgate on Thursday, some of the experimentation is enforced by circumstances, but it will take on a greater significance.

The meeting with the Republic of Ireland, itself a late addition to the calendar after New Zealand pulled out, is currently England’s last friendly in the diary.

There may well be others before Euro 2020, but difficult decisions lurk ahead. Southgate has a 28-man squad, which will have to be reduced to 23 next summer. It is still harder because those 28 do not include injured players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kalvin Phillips, James Ward-Prowse, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Ings, nor the more contentious omissions like James Maddison and Mason Greenwood.

Strength in depth is generally a blessing, but it can be a burden and when perhaps 40 players have a realistic case for selection, Southgate will have the unenviable task of conveying bad news to plenty.

It may be an exaggeration to say this is a final opportunity to impress, especially given the significance of club form, but it is a chance to make a decisive step forward for some fringe figures before the regulars are likelier to be parachuted back in for the Nations League.

Reece James, who contrived to make both a positive and a negative impression against Denmark last month, feels paradoxically guaranteed to start because of his indiscipline. A red card after the final whistle gives him a Nations League suspension, after being England's best player in the preceding 90 minutes, and his place in the squad was with Thursday in mind. He suits Southgate's switch to 3-4-3.

On the other flank, it feels as if the Arsenal teammates Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Bukayo Saka may be competing for the place in the squad as the back-up left wing-back. Maitland-Niles was the luckless man sacrificed after Harry Maguire's first-half sending-off against Denmark; in a sense he deserves the extended outing of a full game.

His misfortune was camouflaged by the controversy of Jack Grealish's status as an unused substitute. The outstanding figure in England's last friendly, a 3-0 win over Wales, has been a spectator since. Grealish is shaping up as the people's champion and, after heading into the last international break fresh from engineering a 7-2 demolition of Liverpool, now he is in similar form after orchestrating a 3-0 evisceration of Arsenal.

The Aston Villa captain is behind Raheem Sterling, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Mason Mount, thus imperilling his position in a smaller squad. Southgate does not feel convinced.

Jack Grealish made an impressive debut in England's 3-0 win over Wales at Wembley. AFP

Others have a chance to cement their place. Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Ings both opened their England accounts against Wales but the Everton centre-forward appeared the preferred candidate for the spot as Harry Kane’s deputy even before the Southampton striker was sidelined.

Conor Coady, a recent cap but a beneficiary of the change in shape and a rookie who has already worn the armband, is in favour, but that could leave Tyrone Mings and Michael Keane competing for one spot in a smaller squad. Nick Pope or Dean Henderson, meanwhile, could stake a case to displace the erratic Jordan Pickford in goal.

The recall of Phil Foden, exiled after his off-field antics in Iceland, highlights how England have a generation of young talent who are untried on this stage. But Southgate has cast experience aside before and the reprieved Foden has the chance to leapfrog his elders. So, too, does Jude Bellingham, the replacement for Ward-Prowse. The 17-year-old has excelled for Borussia Dortmund but would still represent a late bolter in the eventual squad. But perceptions could change dramatically in 90 minutes.

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Jude Bellingham gets first England call up

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  Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham in action during the UEFA Champions League match againstZenit St. Petersburg in Dortmund, Germany, 28 October 2020. EPA

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  Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham before the Bundesliga match against Arminia Bielefeld on October 31. Reuters

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  Dortmund's Jude Bellingham in action against Bayern Munich on November 7. EPA

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  Bayern's Serge Gnabry in action against Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, right. EPA

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  Dortmund's English midfielder Jude Bellingham reacts after missing an attempt on goal against Bayern Munich. AFP

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  Borussia Dortmund's Axel Witsel and Jude Bellingham. Reuters

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  Dortmund's English midfielder Jude Bellingham and Bayern Munich's German forward Thomas Muller. AFP