Getty The Three Lions are on course to return to the top tier of European football after a resounding win – but it was an uncomfortable night for Harry Kane
Gary Neville claimed last summer that England have been unable to control games in midfield for the last 20-30 years, but Curtis Jones has offered them hope of a brighter future in which the Three Lions can dominate the ball, and thus dominate international football. Jones was nowhere to be seen at Euro 2024, when Neville made his scathing assessment of the team's sluggish performances, but he was everywhere as England secured an emphatic 3-0 win over Greece.
The 23-year-old had never played a minute of senior football for his country before Thursday, but he looked like a seasoned veteran of international football in Athens, running the show from the back of the midfield. The Liverpool star showed he could rival Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo for a place in the team with a performance that managed to portray both his maturity and his arrogance, particularly his ridiculously cool backheel strike which rounded off a satisfying evening for the Three Lions.
This was a night when Lee Carsley redeemed himself for his tactical horror show against Greece just one month before, the interim boss doing his permanent successor Thomas Tuchel a favour in the process. But he also left captain Harry Kane in an awkward position by benching England's all-time top scorer. And most worryingly for Kane, the decision proved to be a masterstroke.
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