England’s 1-0 defeat by Brazil was a big dose of reality in the face of the nation’s pre-Euro 2024 optimism, a reminder that the Three Lions are not quite the world-beating machine they resembled in their qualifying campaign.
The good news was that this was an England team deprived of two of its best attackers and they will be a far better side ahead of the tournament once Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka have recovered from their respective injuries.
The bad news was that England’s defence was brutally exposed by Brazil, whose lightning-quick forwards offered a roadmap of how best to get at Gareth Southgate’s side. And unlike with their attack, the problem is unlikely to be fixed by other players returning to full fitness.
This was a game when Harry Maguire’s England mask slipped and he looked like the vulnerable, shaky defender that Manchester United came so close to cutting ties with last summer. Maguire looked uncomfortable for most of the game and was taken off midway through the second half.
The only positive from his point of view was that his replacement, Lewis Dunk, was even more of a liability and ended up making the mistake from which Endrick scored the only goal. Dunk’s disastrous intervention only served to underline an uncomfortable truth: for all his faults, Maguire remains England’s top choice at centre-back and Southgate has little choice but to make it work.