2GS The Sunday Times June 5, 2022 3volleyed pass through to Szoboszlai,
who poked a shot past Pickford,
Conor Coady clearing off England’s
line. Soon Nagy was firing a decent
shot at Pickford from distance and,
supplied by Szoboszlai’s lovely, intui-
tive pass, Nagy threatened again,
forcing another Pickford save.
After England were pressed out of
possession in midfield once more,
Adam Szalai glimpsed Pickford off his
line, swivelled and almost scored
from the centre circle with a volley.
Bowen was responsible for
England’s best moments before Hun-
gary’s goal. The penalty was galling
for Southgate, because James (on for
Alexander-Arnold) was supposed to
bring better defensive security but, as
with the introduction of John Stones
for Walker, the substitution made lit-
tle difference. Saka did improve
things on the left and carried the ball
50 yards before shooting, but Peter
Gulacsi saved with his foot.
Hungary kept coming from their
Zsolt Nagy goes
down under a
challenge from
James, the
England
substitute, for
the penalty from
which Hungary
scored the
only goalATTILA KISBENEDEKHENRY
WINTERBudapest
If Gareth Southgate wants to bring
the best out of Jude Bellingham, the
precocious talent, then he needs to
give him more of a chance to express
himself.
Southgate waited until 12 minutes
from time to give England some more
help in midfield here at the Puskas
Arena in Budapest, sending on Kalvin
Phillips alongside Declan Rice, and
allowing Bellingham to make more
runs into the box.
Bellingham had worked hard in
the preceding 78 minutes but was too
often tracking back, having to put out
fires. If England are to deploy this
special young midfield player then it
has to be in a 4-3-3, but Southgate,
traditionally, is too cautious.
Bellingham, still only 18, has so
much potential but he was stymied
against a good Hungarian side, who
deserved their win and were clearly
responding to the raucous presence
of 25,000 schoolchildren.
England had lined up in a 3-4-3,
with Bellingham partnering Rice in
the centre. Bellingham was
constantly involved but never in fully
game-changing mode.
One minute he was on the right,
taking the ball under pressure. The
next he was over on the left,
dispossessing Adam Szalai and
redirecting play to Harry Kane, then
pressing Andras Schafer and harrying
Loic Nego. This will have also been
what Southgate wanted to see,
accepting defensive duties, blocking
the channels to Hungary’s attackers.
His task at corners was to stick
tight to Willi Orban. He lost the RB
Leipzig centre back once in traffic in
the first half, but Orban was unable to
reach the corner.
Bellingham covered so much
ground. He made occasional runs
into the area, most of which went
unrewarded with the right pass. He
tried making things happen on his
own, running at Schafer, stopping,‘He has so much
potential but was
stymied against a
good side who
deserved to win’Bellingham’s too good to
be wasted putting out fires
Bellingham worked hard but had little chance to influence the matchlovely cameo of his skill and
athleticism. He’s such a good
continuity player, giving and going,
driving forward. On the half-hour,
Bellingham dropped back and took
the ball off Conor Coady, linked with
Rice, then Maguire, then Rice again
as England worked the ball upfield.
He then nicked the ball off Szalai,
but lost it. It summed up England’s
frustrating half.
Bellingham was playing his 50th
game of a long season and fatigue is
clearly an issue for all players at this
stage, yet he was always mobile,
always either filling defensive space
or attacking it.
He played a 1-2 with Trent
Alexander-Arnold, two technicians in
harmony, and bent the ball with the
outside of his right foot to Coady.
As the second half opened,
Bellingham continued to do the hard
yards, closing down Dominik
Szoboszlai out wide, then sliding a
pass down the line to Mason Mount.
Too much of his work was in his
own half, a reflection on England’s
travails, and it was no complete
surprise when Hungary took the lead
after Reece James conceded a soft
penalty and the excellent Szoboszlai
converted.
It was the least Hungary deserved.
Bellingham tried to drag England
back into the game. He kept calling
for the ball, even executing a Cruyff
turn away from Szalai.
With 12 minutes remaining,
Southgate finally went to a back four,
removing Coady, and sending on
Phillips, giving Bellingham more
licence to break into the box.
When Kane then broke in from the
right, Bellingham lurked unmarked
near the centre spot, but the England
captain shot at goal instead and his
effort was saved.swivelling 180, looking for support
and passing across to Kane.
It was hardly his best half but then
he was not alone in being below par.
James Justin particularly struggled on
his debut and was replaced by
Bukayo Saka at the break.
There is no doubt how highly
Southgate rates him, and how this
was a chance for Bellingham to show
he can force his way into the starting
XI at the World Cup.
Most of Southgate’s side is settled,
but the need for a touch more
creativity and adventure has brought
the spotlight on to the tall Borussia
Dortmund player.
The last time Bellingham was here
at the Puskas Arena, back in
September, the teenager was racially
abused as he warmed up on the
touchline. He just laughed at the
Hungarian dinosaurs, spoke to the
FA’s security staff about his
experience, and earned Southgate’s
praise for his “great maturity”. On
and off the field, Bellingham’s
maturity is a huge asset.
He kept trying to run away from
Schafer, moving towards the
Hungarian No 13, then darting away
into space, hoping for the long ball to
feet from his centre backs.
It just felt like he was building to
burst into full life in the first half but
it never came. He worked hard, and
had his moments, taking the ball and
spinning away from Schafer in aZSOLT SZIGETVARYunusual angles and in their unusual
ways. The evening was hot and the
children blew screeching vuvuzelas,
adding to the oppressiveness of it all
from England’s point of view — tired-
ness from the club season also
seemed a factor for certain players.
Mount could not score when Harry
Kane set him up. Bowen made a
decent connection with a volley but
put the ball straight at Gulacsi. Bel-
lingham had a decent effort blocked
by Attila Szalai and Coady glanced a
James free kick millimetres wide. But
while England pushed in the late sta-
ges, the second goal should have been
Hungary’s. On the counter, Laszlo
Kleinheisler cut inside to shoot and
Pickford parried straight to Andras
Schafer, who fired over the crossbar.Hungary (3-4-2-1): P Gulacsi — A Lang, W Orban,
At Szalai — L Négo, A Nagy (C Styles 82),
A Schafer, Z Nagy (B Vecsei 88) — R Sallai
(L Kleinheisler 71), D Szoboszlai (A Fiola 82) —
Ad Szalai. Booked Schafer, Gulacsi.
Referee A Soares Dias (Por).made a mockery of Uefa’s
anti-racism stance.
It also came after a
week in which European
football’s governing body
has been criticised for
blaming Liverpool fans for
the chaotic scenes at last
weekend’s Champions
League final against Real
Madrid in Paris.“When we arrived it
was really friendly,”
Southgate said. “I thought
there were pantomime
boos when we were
warming up, but it was
different when taking the
knee. That seems like
inherited thinking to me. I
should add it still happens
in our stadiums, too.
“That’s why we do it
[take a knee] — to try to
educate people around
the world. I have no idea
why people would try to
boo that gesture.
“Very often, young
people can’t know why
they are doing it, really.
They are beinginfluenced by older
adults.”
Southgate suggested
he may have got the
balance wrong between
picking a team to win and
experimenting for the
World Cup later this year,
with the Leicester City full
back James Justin
substituted at half-time
on his England debut.
“Across these four
games, we are trying to
balance having a look at
things, finding out about
players and trying to win,”
he said. “Maybe I didn’t
quite get the balance of
that right today, but we’ve
learned a lot from it.”‘I HAVE NO IDEA
WHY PEOPLE BOO
THE GESTURE’→Continued from
page 1Germany, who England
meet in Munich on
Tuesday, drew 1-1 against
Italy in Bologna in the
other match in Group A3.
Lorenzo Pellegrini tapped
in to put the hosts in front
on 70 minutes, but
Joshua Kimmich struck
the equaliser soon after.KIMMICH SECURES
DRAW FOR GERMANYPWD LPts
Hungary 11003
Germany 101 0 1
Italy 101 0 1
England 100 1 0