England 1-1 Hungary: Player ratings as Three Lions labour to draw

England were uninspiring against Hungary
England were uninspiring against Hungary / Julian Finney/GettyImages
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England's road to the 2022 World Cup hit a pretty ugly bump on Tuesday as they were held to an uninspiring 1-1 draw with Hungary.

Unfortunately, the game got off to an ugly start. Within the first few minutes, Hungarian fans clashed with police in the stands, with batons and punches flying before things eventually calmed down.

On the field, England dominated possession but were uninspiring with the ball and found themselves 1-0 down midway through the first half. Luke Shaw's high boot gave away a penalty which was fired home by Roland Sallai.

England needed a set-piece of their own to tie things up. A Phil Foden free-kick found its way to the back post, where a grateful John Stones managed to poke home to level the score up at the break.

The second 45 got off to a similar tempo. England held a lot of the ball but asked very few questions, all while Hungary continued to look menacing on the counter.

Both sides had good chances to score. Raheem Sterling came close for the hosts, before Filip Holender should have done far better with a chance from close range, but the overall lack of quality in the final third was clear.

Ultimately, England just were not good enough for this one and had to settle for the point they deserved.


England player ratings

1. Goalkeeper & defenders

Jordan Pickford (GK) - 6/10 - Not a lot he could have done about the penalty. Wasn't particularly busy otherwise.

Kyle Walker (RB) - 5/10 - Asked to play a little narrower to help Rice but looked lost doing so. Some sloppy touches and offered no threat going forward (which was largely Southgate's fault).

Tyrone Mings (CB) - 5/10 - Looked a little lost against Hungary's press. Didn't have the passing skills needed to get out.

John Stones (CB) - 7/10 - Solid enough at the back and looked a real threat in attack. Good movement for his goal and caused plenty of problems.

Luke Shaw (LB) - 5/10 - A little hard done by for the penalty but will have known the risks that come with putting your foot that high. A little naive.

2. Midfielders

Phil Foden
Foden had a tricky game / Julian Finney/GettyImages

Declan Rice (DM) - 5/10 - Tasked with being a lone anchor man but really struggled. Was seen begging for help early on but didn't really ever get it.

Mason Mount (CM) - 4/10 - Needed to be helping Rice out more but seemed to get lost between attack and defence. Not his most effective game.

Phil Foden (CM) - 5/10 - Like Mount, seemed like he didn't really know what he should be doing. A quarterback? A 10? Ended up being neither.

3. Forwards

Gareth Southgate, Harry Kane
Kane did nothing / Matthew Ashton - AMA/GettyImages

Raheem Sterling (RW) - 4/10 - Could have easily forgotten he was playing.

Harry Kane (ST) - 3/10 - Barely touched the ball. Won't even need to clean his boots. Hauled off with 15 to go.

Jack Grealish (LW) - 6/10 - A little one-dimensional at times but was basically the only England player who actually wanted to make something happen. Some impressive runs but end product wasn't great. Hooked for Saka on the hour mark.

4. Substitutes

Jack Grealish, Gareth Southgate, Bukayo Saka
Saka replaced Grealish / Julian Finney/GettyImages

Bukayo Saka (RW) - 5/10 - Pretty anonymous after coming on but nobody was any different.

Jordan Henderson (CM) - 5/10 - Probably not the man to bring on in search of a goal. Some sloppy passes.

Tammy Abraham (ST) - N/A - Looked up for it in his short cameo but was forced off with a knee injury.

Ollie Watkins (ST) - N/A - Replaced Abraham in injury time.