As almost half of the ZPB team have worked for the CQC at some point and with the World Cup in full flow, we felt compelled to give the England football team their very own rating for the first two games. Sad, we know.
Naturally we all know England are going to win the World Cup and Harry Kane is going to get the golden boot (except our resident Kiwi Rachel), but we have tried to remain impartial for this rating.
For those of you that live in a cave with no TV (Rachel again) the games we are basing our assessment on are a 2-1 win against Tunisia and a 6-1 victory over Panama.
Safe – Requires improvement
On the whole England have looked pretty assured at the back and confident in possession. However, there have been a few shaky moments and lapses in concentration. For example, the Panama goal and Kyle Walker being slightly unsure in his new centre back role. If they are to succeed against the more clinical teams in the competition they need to cut out these mistakes.
Effective – Good
Minus a few wasted opportunities against Tunisia, you can’t deny England’s efficiency in front of goal. They scored six of the seven shots on Panama’s goal. They have also shown that the time they have spent on the training ground practicing set pieces has not been a waste – having scored six goals from them already.
Caring – Requires improvement
This was a particularly difficult measure to assess, but we have leaned towards requires improvement simply because no one has cried when singing the national anthem.
Responsive – Outstanding
There was clear evidence of England’s responsiveness during both World Cup matches. The fact they were able to restore their lead against Tunisia in injury time was enough to give them a ‘good’ rating. However, the way they adapted so fantastically to cope with Panama’s rugby-esque tactics secured an ‘outstanding’.
Well-led – Good
From the outside it would appear as though Gareth Southgate and his coaching staff have done a brilliant job of uniting the players. We’ll look past Steve Holland’s blip with the team sheet. Although we would strongly recommend that they put a falls prevention protocol in place after Gareth taking a tumble and injured his shoulder.
Overall – Good
We have given England a respectable ‘good’ for the first two games of this World Cup campaign, which is a massive improvement on tournaments gone by. However, as we know there is always room for improvement. For example, Raheem Sterling must be more clinical.