England flipped the script to beat Belgium but lack of midfield creativity remains a concern

Manager Southgate's tweaks shows he has the tactical nous to devise and implement match-winning changes during 90 minutes

ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford - 7: Dealt with most things thrown at him and one thumping pass almost put Marcus Rashford through on goal. Reuters

Kyle Walker - 9: The Manchester City defender was ubiquitous on a night he won his 50th cap and his manager's trust again. AFP

Eric Dier - 6: Giving away unnecessary penalties is becoming the Tottenham defender's forte. Reuters

Harry Maguire - 7: He and Dier both struggled against Lukaku's physicality early on but both improved markedly in the second half. AFP

Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6: A subdued performance but provided the only quality ball in open play that led to Mount's winner. Reuters

Declan Rice - 7: Struggled to get the better of the wily Witsel in the first half but dominated the Dortmund man in the second. Reuters

Jordan Henderson - 6: Went down theatrically to win the penalty that levelled the tie. AFP

Kieran Trippier - 7: Looked a square peg in a round hole on the left side of England's defence. Grew into the game though and made some timely interventions. AFP

Mason Mount - 6: A surprise choice ahead of Jack Grealish and did little to justify it before his deflected effort decided the match. Reuters

Marcus Rashford - 6: Another who had a subdued night but banged in a penalty that turned the match in England's favour. AFP

Dominic Calvert-Lewin - 7: Some lovely hold up play with England under the cosh in the first half but precious little to feed on in front of goal. AFP

SUBS: Harry Kane (on for Calvert-Lewin) - 5: Took the sting out of the game drawing fouls off the Belgium defenders but missed an absolute sitter. EPA

Kalvin Phillips (on for Henderson) - 6: The Leeds man does not look out of place on the international stage. EPA

Reece James (on for Alexander-Arnold) - 6: One of four England right-backs to get game time. The Chelsea defender snapped at the heels of Carrasco and Castagne. AFP

Jadon Sancho (on for Mount) - NA: No time to make an impact. AFP

BELGIUM RATINGS: Simon Mignolet - 6: Only playing due a raft of injuries but the Club Bruge man could do nothing about either England goal. AFP

Toby Alderweireld - 7: Hardly troubled and can feel unlucky that Mount's shot looped up off his attempted block for the winner. Reuters

Dedryck Boyata - 7: Solid showing from the Hertha Berlin defender at the heart of Belgium's three-man defence. Reuters

Jason Denayer - 7: Comfortably dealt with most things thrown at him but was caught on his heels as substitute Kane nearly connected with a corner. AFP

Thomas Meunier - 7: Will probably be one of the few players anywhere cursing the absence of VAR after giving away a soft penalty for England's equaliser. Reuters

Youri Tielemans - 6: The 23-year-old will be a linchpin of this Belgium side for years to come but his manager will be concerned how he and midfield partner Witsel wilted once England had the wind in their sails. AFP

Axel Witsel - 6: Looked pure silk until Rice nailed him with a crunching tackle just before half time. Went missing there after. Reuters

Timothy Castagne - 7: Showed why Leicester were prepared to pay big money to bring him to the Premier League. Will be kicking himself for wandering offside that saw Carrasco's early strike ruled out though. AFP

Yannick Carrasco - 8: Belgium's brightest player as they battered England in the first half and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet before being replaced late on. Reuters

Kevin de Bruyne - 8: The pass that picked out Carrasco in the second half was precision personified. It deserved a better finish. Reuters

Romelu Lukaku - 8: The Inter Milan striker was brute force and subtle flicks in the first half before being snuffed out by England's back three in the second. Reuters

SUBS: Yari Verschaeren (on for De Bruyne) - 5: The 19-year old came on to win a sixth Belgium cap saw little of the ball. Reuters

Jeremy Doku (on for Carrasco) - NB: The Rennes teenager earned a second cap. EPA

The script seemed wearily familiar for England. The side that took a first-half lead ended up caught out by a comeback. Early excitement turned to disappointment that prompted questions about a failure to react.

Except the twist in the plot was that this time England were the team who trailed but prevailed.

They had gone ahead in World Cup and Nations League semi-finals but ended up outmanoeuvred by Croatia and the Netherlands, respectively.

One of the most valid criticisms of Gareth Southgate was that, at the highest level, he lacked the ability to devise and implement influential mid-game changes.

Southgate had given English football a cultural reboot, changing the culture and promoting youth. When he had time to design a strategy, Plan A could be inventive and effective. When he had to think on his feet, Plan B was either inadequate or conspicuous by its absence.

So the most encouraging element of Sunday’s win over Belgium came in the difference between the first half and the second. Mason Mount’s winner came courtesy of a huge deflection but perhaps England made their own luck.

The difference came with the same 11 – and it is a separate test if Southgate can change games with substitutions – but aided by tactical tweaks.

England played higher up the pitch, closing the gaps between the sections of the side.

Southgate praised the goalscorers, Mount and Marcus Rashford, for their pressing and Kieran Trippier, who is unaccustomed to operating on the left, for his perfect positioning. Both wing-backs found space infield while Romelu Lukaku, the first half’s dominant figure, had less of an impact.

Elite-level coaching increasingly feels a question of detail. Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola can be masters of micromanagement, altering players’ positions subtly and slightly.

Southgate’s success has stemmed from big-picture issues. Allying that with the ability to adjust to opponents signifies the sort of improvement from him that he likes to coax from players. And yet Kevin de Bruyne’s first-half brilliance highlighted one of England’s enduring issues.

Their lack of a midfield controller was highlighted by Luka Modric and Croatia two years ago. Southgate had one more defensive presence in midfield then, in Jordan Henderson, and now has two, but his move to 3-4-3 has cost England some of the dynamism they showed when scoring 38 goals in 2019 and has removed the job of the attacking midfielder.

For different reasons, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Maddison, Phil Foden and Ross Barkley are not in the squad, but their role has been made redundant.

Mount, the one exception, was accommodated in the forward line. A player who some think has been afforded preferential treatment by both Frank Lampard and Southgate has become an easy scapegoat, but the England manager called him: “Underappreciated, but not by us.”

Southgate is popular but not a populist, unafraid to make unpopular decisions, such as omitting Jack Grealish.

There is a broader question if the change of shape came out of confidence or concern. Was introducing a third central defender a sign he could not trust any two, especially against elite opponents? It seemed the motivation for his initial back three in the World Cup. Perhaps now, too, using wing-backs is a reaction to a lack of left-backs, Ben Chilwell excepted.

And yet England’s midfield, rarely the most creative in recent years, is stripped of more invention and attacking intent by removing its most progressive player.

Henderson and Declan Rice at least brought the drive to suggest they represent the premier partnership.

Neither, though, is a De Bruyne and England will require positional discipline, cleverness and powers of recovery if they are to add further victories, especially in adversity, against the best.