England vs Montenegro: Callum Hudson-Odoi delivers on promise and four other things we learned

Montenegro 1-5 England: Gareth Southgate’s side continued their blemish-free procession towards Euro 2020

After a clumsy start, England continued their Euro 2020 qualifying procession with a 5-1 win against Montenegro.

After barely a scant touch of possession though, it was the home side who took the lead after idle-defending by Callum Hudson-Odoi, making his full international debut, allowed Montenegro to catch England sleeping on the counter-attack, with Marko Vesovic beating Jordan Pickford with a curled finish.

But it wasn’t long before England made amends with Michael Keane beating former Manchester City centre-half Stefan Savic at the back post to level.

Hudson-Odoi, now the second youngest player in history to start a competitive game for England, then darted in off the left flank, breezing past two defenders before whipping an effort towards the far post, with Ross Barkley on hand to divert the ball home.

Barkley added his second of the night from the edge of the box courtesy of a sleek cut-back from Raheem Sterling, while last Friday's hat-trick then closed the show himself to continue a fine streak of form in an England shirt and the blemish-free beginning to England’s Euro pursuit.

Here are five things we learned from the game…

Callum Hudson-Odoi delivers on promise but needs a little more polish

A precocious talent taking the rare path of making a full international debut ahead of that in the Premier League, the 18-year-old has an innate ability to hang in the blind spot off the back of his marker to receive the ball. Clutching the right touchline from the opening whistle, Hudson-Odoi frequently found space, allowing him to parade his fearless tenacity and desire to run directly at defenders with the ball. Adept with either foot, agile and effortlessly nimble, Hudson-Odoi has such an instant burst of acceleration his opposite number is already taking a subconscious step backwards. Frequently he beat his man and clipped a ball towards the far post, where on one occasion, after beating two defenders Sterling should have headed home. Then, after 38 minutes, Hudson-Odoi cut inside of the left, jinked past two defenders and curled a shot towards the far corner, which was deftly diverted in by way of Ross Barkley. Going forwards he was England’s best influence on the pitch, ahead even of Raheem Sterling. A new generation footballer forever running forwards.

But then there was the side lost amongst the fantasy for the Chelsea starlet. Intent on motoring goalward, twice he was caught out badly ahead of Kyle Walker. With the Manchester City full-back looking to overlap, when Hudson-Odoi failed to track back England were left exposed. Perhaps, that was too the fault of Walker, one of England’s most senior players, who failed to talk closely with the winger and guide him. Ultimately, it cost England their first goal when Hudson-Odoi was beaten to the header and then failed to follow his man, even if he was quick to make amends. On other occasions, he was found guilty of lingering on the ball a fraction too long, too keen to express his brand of street football and losing possession, although you suspect this is simply a consequence of his style.

Hudson-Odoi is not quite as polished as Jadon Sancho yet, the consequence of the disparity of appearances between the pair, but in two best friends from South London, England have two of the most exciting teenager wingers in world football, who could come to dominate the game for a decade to come.

Complacency catches England early

For the first ten minutes, Montenegro scarcely manufactured a pass, sitting back cumbersomely as England attempted to break down the defensive barricade. There was a cocky swagger to England as they racked up the corners, dominated the territory, as if they were somewhat expecting Montenegro to crumble before them. That moment never came, though, England only watched a rare glimpse of goal when Raheem Sterling wriggled skilfully between three challenges.

What England didn’t take heed of, though, was Montenegro’s two strikers, playing in Israel and South Korea respectively, positioned indiscriminately on the halfway line. It was simply complacency from England. A routine lump forward saw an idle Hudson-Odoi beaten to the header by Žarko Tomaševic, Michael Keane could only clear the next ball forward to the grateful feet of of Marko Vesovic who bobbled his way crudely into the box before a cute curled finish beyond Jordan Pickford.

It was Montenegro’s first attack, first shot, first breath of relief from England’s stranglehold. And, with that, they were buoyed and England were dumbstruck, with a Montenegero defence constricting ever further and their counter-attacks suddenly sharpened.

Eventually, it would be of little matter as England sauntered to victory, but it was sheer shiftlessness at its root.

Ross Barkley had one of his best games in an England shirt (Getty)

Ross Barkley evolving into an England mainstay

It’s been a stumbling rise for Ross Barkley. First came the frenzy, then the talk of frivolity after a spell on the sidelines with injury, eventually leading to his acrimonious departure from Everton. But, after joining Chelsea a little over a year ago, there is a newfangled maturity to the box-to-box midfielder’s play and the promise of fulfilling his much-vaunted potential. For England, with a formation to mirror Chelsea’s, built on an anchor in midfield and a box-to-box marauding companion to either side, Barkley has found his niche. Playing off Eric Dier, he is a dynamic link between defence and attack, wasting little time over recycling possession, always keeping the ball moving and never afraid to run forwards. It was he who blistered through the middle of the pitch, beyond Kane, Sterling and Hudson-Odoi to tap-in the latter’s shot, a finish in the ilk of the typical poacher – and something often missed in his formative game. For his second, and England’s third, Barkley lingered cannily on the edge of the box to collect Sterling’s cut-back before swatting it into the net to further prove his attacking nous. When England were, on a rare occasion, caught out at the back, he was quick to cover ground and reinforce in front of the defence. Slowly and steadily, Barkley is evolving into the type of midfielder that Gareth Southgate’s system was built and thrives for.

A measured full debut for Declan Rice

It was a quieter full debut for Declan Rice, marshalling the shadows in defensive midfield as Hudson-Odoi basked in the attacking spotlight. But, in many ways, it was the 20-year-old’s understated presence that was impressive, brushing off a somewhat shaky cameo appearance on his debut against Czech Republic last Friday. There were still a number of errant passes, a slgihtly rushed nature to his play that has been ironed out at club level, a jump in quality and pressure he perhaps hasn’t quite settled into yet. But Rice also evidenced a keen ability to read the game, snuffle out attacks and recycle possession. Based on tonight’s evidence, he is not quite ready to displace a member of England’s midfield – Eric Dier being the obvious consequence – but his time will surely come in time for Euro 2020 and learning experiences such as these will prove invaluable.

Harry Kane scored his 22nd goal for England (AP)

Contrasting Harry Kane shows versatility again

For a player steadily shirking a reputation as an out-and-out goalscorer and lending his talents to creativity, it was a relatively quiet night on the line of the last defender for Tottenham's talisman this evening. Rarely did he manage to drag Savic and Marko Simic out of position, as he did so effectively against Czech Republic, but for what he lost in artistic licence on a night where it was rarely needed, Kane was still on hand to deliver a stake to the Montegrin defence with an incisive finish after a fine showing of attacking interplay between Sterling and Barkley. Kane now has 22 goals in 38 appearances for England, a phenomenal strike rate that proves even on those quieter nights, that he is always versatile and never too far in the distance