Young Blues feature in dramatic England draw

, 23 June, 29comments  |  Jump to most recent
Barkley, Lundstram and Long play against Iraq
Three of Everton's five representatives at the Fifa U20 World Cup in Turkey played for England tonight in their opening game, a 2-2 draw with Iraq.

Playmaker Ross Barkley and lively winger John Lumdstram started the game and it was Barkley who forced the first save of the game with a nice run and shot.

And Lundstram's neat dink forward found the run of Williams who looked odds-on to score until a defender blocked his shot near the goalline.

Captain Connor Coady of Liverpool gave the Three Lions the lead five minutes before half time when he headed home a flick-on from a corner.

And, after a terrific double-save by Johnston in the England goal, Barkley led the counter-attack with a surging run before laying it off to set up the cross from which Williams converted at the far post.

The two young Blues had both looked enterprising and eager, with Barkley showing composure and vision in central areas and Lundstram making darting runs into space down the right flank one minute, and flicking teasing balls off the outside of his boot the next.

Lundstram had been let down a little by the forward distribution from Flanagan at right back and was withdrawn in the 69th minute in one change while Everton's Chris Long also came on for the last 21 minutes with England in control. But a 75th minute penalty halved the advantage setting up the grandstand finish from Iraq.

After Barkley had been subbed in the 89th minute, Long, who had forced a good save from the opposition 'keeper with a low shot with his first real involvement, was the only Blue on the pitch when Ali Adnan grabbed an injury time equaliser that denied the Three Lions a first win in 16 games.

England are back in action on Wednesday evening against Chile, with their final group game against Egypt to follow on Saturday.

 

Reader Comments (29)

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Mike Gaynes
1 Posted 24/06/2013 at 05:14:26
Most impressive by Everton's youngsters. Barkley looked confident and composed on the ball. And Lundstram, whom I hadn't seen before, is a quick winger with excellent touch.
Albert Perkins
2 Posted 24/06/2013 at 06:16:04
I thought Barkley was the best player on the pitch. He made at least 4 runs from defense, one of which led to a goal and others could have if the forwards had capitalised. Goalie made a good save from him also. Thought Lundstram was promising.

The trick is for Martinez to help develop these young men into PL players. This will be key for us in the coming seasons. We have had too many false promises. That's real coaching, taking the promise and turning it into reality.

Would like that Iran winger who scored the equalizer running down our left wing.

Liam Reilly
3 Posted 24/06/2013 at 06:51:17
I thought Barkley was by far the best player on that pitch. How he wasn't in the under 21's is anyone's guess. Probably better he wasn't actually.

I really think we should sign him up to a long term deal or I can see him being poached. Wouldn't it be ironic if Moyes came back for him after showing him so few opportunities in an Everton shirt?

Ajay Gopal
4 Posted 24/06/2013 at 07:42:01
RM should wheel and deal in the loan market - it would be good to let players like Lundstram, Long, McAleny, Stones, Kennedy & Duffy go out on long term loans to Championship teams and it would then give them an opportunity to play 1st team football and for RM to evaluate their potential to make into Everton's 1st team next season at least. Barkley should be in the senior Everton squad with regular playing time this season. Duffy would also come into the senior squad for the 2nd half of the season.
Phil Sammon
5 Posted 24/06/2013 at 08:18:50
Barkley looked head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch.

Lundstram is a very talented player but he absolutely is not a winger. He is all about great distribution and neat touches. He's not going to take players on and was wasted out there.

Really depressing game to be honest. Still playing 4-5-1 and still favouring a big lumbering 'English centre forward'. I think Kane did alright in truth, but I thought we were trying to adapt our game from youth level, rather than sticking to the same tried, tested and failed formula of the last 20 years.

Alan Humphreys
6 Posted 24/06/2013 at 08:28:55
The equalising goal was a joke, more about poor defending than skilful play although the lad had quick feet the defenders gave him all the room he wanted (Ball should have been cleared a minute or so earlier but the CB's got scared of the bouncing ball). Agree Barkley looked good, midfield lost some shape after he went off which is when Iran equalised.

Coaching of all the England teams needs overhauling, as it's depressing watching the rigidity of our play at all levels. So much for the U20's saying they would restore English pride. That said Chile looked poor at times as did Egypt (how their no.4 didn't score a first half hat-trick I'll never know). We should still qualify based on what I've seen of the opposition...

Good opportunity for our boys but pre-season is when they need to continue to impress so they our given their opportunity in the first team. Be good to see these lads given playing time.

Jon Ferguson
7 Posted 24/06/2013 at 09:02:11
From match reports etc I had read, for our reserves plus during his time at Doncaster, I was under the impression Lundstram was a box-to-box midfielder rather than a winger.

Surely our U20s should be smashing Iraq. No disrespect to them meant, they have no major league or infrastructure to develop football teams and our boys are coming from what should be one of the most advanced on the planet.

I've been gutted for years that our U21s have been under the guidance of Psycho Pearse. The man has the spirit of a warrior and would run through walls for his team but when it comes to teasing the technical aspects out of developing players in the modern game, he was never going to be up to scratch.

Our FA need to sit down, as the Belgians did a few years back and form a long-term plan. It involves a first-team manager with vision and a playing policy which starts in the youth leagues and stretches up to the seniors.

Never going to happen mind!

Jon Withey
8 Posted 24/06/2013 at 09:16:31
Thought Barkey was one of the few on the pitch for England that gave anything more than the usual pace and power of the English game.

He does lose the ball a lot though, it's kind of worth it for what he tries to create. Reminds me of what Joe Cole was criticised for before Mourinho started insisting he took care of the ball.

Lundstram was very tidy in his passing, not sure what he was doing on the wing.

They wouldn't be a bad couple of midfielders for Everton.

Kieran Fitzgerald
9 Posted 24/06/2013 at 12:12:33
Very encouraging from an Everton point of view. Hopefully both Barkley and Lundstram get more game time over the rest of the tournament. It couldn't have come at a better time in terms of them getting the opportunity to impress a new manager.
David Nicholls
10 Posted 24/06/2013 at 12:25:04
Some great touches by Lundstram, I think he will be a central midfielder but has the attributes to do a job in the wider areas and was deployed on the right hand side of a 3-man attacking midfield trio.

I missed Longs cameo but it's great to see so many young blues involved.

Exciting times!

Ross Edwards
11 Posted 24/06/2013 at 12:48:04
2-2 against Iraq. English football needs an immeadiate overhaul now.
Barry Pearce
12 Posted 24/06/2013 at 13:12:36
I totally agree with Ross — look at our resources compared to theirs, and we can't beat them! Same old, same old, big lump forward...
Paul Gladwell
13 Posted 24/06/2013 at 13:26:16
Barkley stuck out like a sore thumb, but as for the rest of them, typical English players with a typical performance, the usual lumbering dope up front etc.
Brian Denton
14 Posted 24/06/2013 at 13:33:19
Don't refer to England as 'the Three Lions' - it's Sky-era crap.
Jon Withey
15 Posted 24/06/2013 at 14:16:13
One of the great things about football is that you don't need lots of money to play. A lot of the best players come from poor backgrounds precisely for that reason.

Which makes me wonder about this 'investment' argument that says England should be great.

Sure, money buys you the best players, but does it make them?

I expect the Iraq players have more to play for.

Perhaps we'll never have the culture to nurture Brazil / Spain type players (or even Nigeria, who were great to watch last night).

That said, we should be able to manage something similar to ze Germans.

Paul Thompson
16 Posted 24/06/2013 at 15:07:16
Agree about Barkley. Man (in thinking and phsyique) amongst boys. Lundstram looked out of palce on the wing, though was done no favours by the awful Flanagan at right back. Long looked lively when he came on. Our ex-player, Eric Dier, looked a bit static at the back (as did the others).Stones should get a chance in the next game.

From an England point of view fairly depressing. I wouldn't udnerestimate Irag - they are pretty good at this level. But England just looked like the other age levels - flat, ponderous etc. Surely we have better coaches than Pearce and Taylor?

Wayne Smyth
17 Posted 24/06/2013 at 18:03:59
Agree with the thoughts about Barkley who was easily the best player on show.

I thought Lundstram was poor, but probably because he's not a winger. I can see he'd have the physique and ability to do a really good job in the centre though.

Paul McGinty
18 Posted 24/06/2013 at 18:15:19
Watched about 2/3rds of the game. Barkley ahead of anyone else in the England outfield in terms of thought process, technical ability and speed. The England goalie wasnt bad though. The last 3-5 minutes of just aimless clearances to no one , what did they expect but to either get lucky or concede. They invited Iraq on. Englands second was a nice breakaway well executed but too much predictability to their play overall.

Sam Hoare
19 Posted 24/06/2013 at 18:22:24
Out of our 5 lads in the squad Barkley is the only one I would expect to make any serious impression on the first team this season. The others could all use a little bit more time and learning, perhaps on loan to championship clubs.
Ross Edwards
20 Posted 24/06/2013 at 18:39:47
We need to get rid of the old snobby blokes at the FA who have no clue about modern football. Plus, Pearce and Taylor are crap managers lets be honest.

We have to look at English football from grassroots up, because if we don't, I can see the likes of Belgium winning a major tournament before us.

We have to look at what the Germans have done. They finished bottom of their Euro 2000 group, and they knew that changes should be made, and they did.

I can really see us missing out on the World Cup next year, I really can.

Jon Ferguson
21 Posted 24/06/2013 at 18:29:30
Jon 991 - I completely agree that you don't need any money to play football and at a young age talent should just shine through.

I would say that by international under 20 level, the players who have played in the top teams in Europe, South America and to a lesser extent the J and C Leagues have been coached by supposedly the best in the game (many of the best African players develop in European youth league). Their overall awareness of tactics and training methods should be far in advance of those without the same facilities. These players are well-paid (comparatively) professionals, focussed on a career in football (no part time jobs etc). The training and influence of highly qualified trainers should mean that their technique develops beyond the levels of naturally gifted individuals without the same opportunities (in a country like Iraq I doubt they have the same level of football infrastructure as in England).

By their age, the level of investment that has gone into making them international standard athletes should be paying off. Obviously this isn’t the case in this instance as the Iraqis have recorded a draw against them. I would suggest that something isn’t right somewhere if the cream of our U21 and U20 teams can’t pick apart teams like Iraq.

Harold Matthews
22 Posted 24/06/2013 at 20:10:03
Agree with the above posts. Our lads,especially Barkley, performed with promise but we saw nothing new in the way of style and tactics.
To quote Jon Ferguson " Something isn't right somewhere."

We were led to believe that Brooking was going to shake everything up but after seven or so years in the job we are still at square one. What on earth is going on?

Mike Oates
23 Posted 24/06/2013 at 20:28:59
The problem we've had is that Barkley can really only play in that hole between forward and midfield, and his pace and strength suit a counter attacking style, rather than a pass, pass ,wide, pass ete etc type of game we have played the last few years. Moyes preferred Fellaini in that hole, not Barkley. Barkley is not a box to box, attacking/defensive midfielder and as such he really only fits into that specialised hole place.I don't ever see Barkley as fit enough to do a complete 90 mins. If Fellaini stays I can see Martinez still using Fellaini rather than Barkley in that forward support role. In saying all this Barkley is so talented he needs to be given his chance, and over 5-6 games not just the odd one

As regards Lundstram - he played as a defensive midfielder when on loan at Doncaster last year, he is not a winger and never will be.

Wayne Smyth
24 Posted 25/06/2013 at 17:16:56
Mike, what makes you think that Barkley couldn't become a box-to-box midfielder and doesn't have the fitness to last 90 minutes? The latter statement seems especially unfounded.

Mike Oates
25 Posted 25/06/2013 at 17:53:14
# 231 Wayne

His body shape is that of a powerful, dynamic shape, capable of fast acceleration say over 30-50yds, using strength of his lower torso and upper legs. These types of athletes are not usually good for long endurance games, and if you looked at the recent U20's match he was switched to a wide position for last 15 mins as he wasn't doing anything in centre midfield and we were being overrun there.

Paul Ferry
26 Posted 26/06/2013 at 01:08:39
Jay Gopal (#861): "We should wheel and deal in the loan market – it would be good to let players like Lundstram, Long, McAleny, Stones, Kennedy & Duffy go out on long term loans to Championship teams."

NO, NO, three of these players are good enough to be in the match-day squad and get a game.

It's way past time now that we blood our best youth through the ranks in squad.

Phil Sammon
27 Posted 26/06/2013 at 16:37:27
Is anybody watching this England U20's match on EuroSport?

I've never seen anything like it. The gulf in quality between us and Chile is absolutely ridiculous. 35 minutes gone and the South Americans have had 67% possession.

I'm not one who prides possession over goals but some of the tactics (or lack of) employed by England wouldn't have looked out of place in a Sunday League side. At the kick-off, after Chile's goal, we lined up with 2 men on the left touch line. The ball was rolled back to a central midfielder who lumped it at the corner flag for the 2 left wingers to chase onto. That sums us up.

I'd like to blame the players...but it's every single one of them. Absolutely hopeless, completely devoid of technical ability.

Patrick Murphy
28 Posted 26/06/2013 at 16:54:03
Phil just watched the last 10 mins not very impressive.
Phil Sammon
29 Posted 26/06/2013 at 17:52:16
Much improved second half but still not great.

The positive news for us Blues is that Barkley looked the best player by a country mile. He set up our goal and made countless driving runs from box to box. He really is an exciting player when he gets the ball.

Stones was very average like every other England player.


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