Hungary vs England result: Player ratings as Raheem Sterling stars in Three Lions’ World Cup qualifying win
Hungary 0-4 England: Sterling and Kane put the game out of reach before Maguire and Rice added gloss
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England beat Hungary 4-0 in Budapest to make it four wins from four in their World Cup 2022 qualifying group.
The first 45 minutes was a procession of possession for the Three Lions, who dominated the ball but had nowhere to go with it against a resolute and organised home side. Dominik Szoboszlai fired their only chance over the bar with a free-kick, while England saw Mason Mount and Harry Maguire send efforts over the top.
Immediately after half-time Harry Kane had the best chance of the match to that point with a one-on-one effort, but he scuffed a poor effort straight at Peter Gulacsi who saved. England weren’t thwarted for long though, with two goals in eight minutes coming from a Raheem Sterling tap-in and a Harry Kane header from Sterling’s cross.
Harry Maguire then scored a third, heading in off a corner, with Kane spurning another chance or two to give the scoreline an even more lopsided look - before Declan Rice’s shot from range was spilled in by Gulacsi for four.
Here are the player ratings from the Puskas Arena on Thursday.
England
Jordan Pickford - 6. Not honestly convinced he was in the Puskas Arena. Took a goal kick in the first half, which was just about his highlight of the match, such was Hungary’s lack of attacking threat.
Kyle Walker - 7. Some decent deliveries from the right and always available on the overlap.
John Stones - 6. Got himself in a muddle with one lofted ball toward him but otherwise untroubled for the most part.
Harry Maguire - 8. Cleared his lines the few times he had to. Solid in aerials, passed into midfield well. Decent header for the third, which should have been saved all the same.
Luke Shaw - 7. Looked to get on the overlap whenever possible in the first half. Mixed crossing and set pieces.
Declan Rice - 8. Quick and aggressive in the challenge, with decidedly mixed results. Adventurous with the passing from deep at times. Scored late on thanks to Gulacsi’s butterfingers.
Kalvin Phillips - 7. Fine with his passing in midfield, but perhaps could have gambled more with his forward runs at times.
Mason Mount - 7. Tried to link play with regularity but a lack of runners, or indeed space for them to run into, minimised his impact on the build-up play. So he ran beyond the defence himself, and created the opening goal.
Jack Grealish - 7. In and out of the game, a few underhit passes and blind alleys, but involved in the game’s first and last goals.
Raheem Sterling - 8. The first-half livewire, sometimes taking on three or four at once trying to open up space. Scored soon after the restart after good movement to find a fine unmarked spot in the box, then immediately delivered the assist for the second.
Harry Kane - 7. A few clever passes but not often a presence in the penalty box in the first half. After the break he had three quickfire chances, scoring the middle one.
Subs
Jesse Lingard - n/a. Played the final six minutes.
Bukayo Saka - n/a. Late sub.
Jordan Henderson - n/a. On with Saka with the game done.
Hungary
Gulacsi (4); Kecskes (5), Orban (6), At Szalai (4); Bolla (4), Schafer (5), Kleinheisler (6), Fiola (3); Szoboszlai (5), Ad Szalai (4), Sallai (4).
Subs: Salloi (5), Varga (5), Kazdag (n/a)
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