Southgate must be ruthless to elevate England – starting with Harry Maguire

A t times during the opening half-hour of England’s slow-burn 2-0 defeat of Ukraine the only real football on show was that very modern kind of non-football: the things that happen in the strange, dead time while everyone in the stadium waits for the assistant referee to raise the flag for offside. This was the only real entertainment on show: invalid entertainment.

There was one of these moments shortly before England’s opening goal as Harry Maguire chased back to retrieve a loose ball, then just seemed to stop. Except, it wasn’t that. Maguire hadn’t actually stopped. There he was, still going, still turning like a fully-laden container ship easing its way grandly out of port. We’re still on. This was just Maguire attempting to sprint.

Nothing came of it, and Maguire wasn’t really asked to chase again all game. He defended well otherwise, showing his strengths in passing, heading and reading the angles. But if these games leading towards Germany 2024 really are about refinement, about elevating England’s level towards genuine rather than hopeful tournament favourites, that slow-motion tableau, football through a mild dose of horse tranquilliser, was still probably one the most significant moments of a mismatched afternoon.

This England team is evolving. It has deeper gears than at any stage in the last seven years. But it is also time for Gareth Southgate to make some final calculations, to be ruthless when it comes to the balance of loyalty and weaknesses. And Maguire remains the most obvious knot to be untangled.

It was a pretty useful few days for other reasons too, as late-season, limb-weary international breaks go. England have all but nailed a top-two spot in the group. Some areas of quiet progress made in Qatar