England player ratings v Romania: Tyrone Mings 5, Jack Grealish 8, Marcus Rashford 7
Southgate's side win final warm-up match 1-0 ahead of Euro 2020 finals
June 7, 2021
A Marcus Rashford penalty earned England victory in their final warm-up game against Romania ahead of Euro 2020.
The Manchester United striker, named captain for the first time in Harry Kane's absence, coolly slotted home from the spot in the second half after Jack Grealish had been fouled by Tiberiu Capusa.
It would have been a more comfortable scoreline had substitute Jordan Henderson – making his first appearance since injuring his groin playing for Liverpool in February – not seen keeper Florin Nita save his spot-kick, after Dominic Calvert-Lewin was bundled over by Vlad Chiriches.
Manager Gareth Southgate again named an experimental starting XI that included Ben Godfrey, Ben White and James Ward-Prowse – all of whom were left out of his 26-man squad for this summer's tournament.
In a patchy display, when Aston Villa midfielder Grealish was again the brightest attacking spark, England did hit the bar twice in the first half.
First, through a thumping Calvert-Lewin header after a perfect ball into the box by Ward-Prowse, who was also one of England's top performers, and second when Jadon Sancho's curler cracked the woodwork.
There was some defensive concerns for Southgate, though, with Romania finding gaps in the backline too easily at times and having a fit Harry Maguire back in the team is looking more and more crucial to England's hopes.
And it took once superlative stop from Sam Johnstone, who looked assured on his senior debut, to deny Andre Ivan what looked like a certain goal in the second half.
Published: June 7, 2021 08:23 AM
