Just as they were eight years ago, England have been knocked out of the World Cup in the semi-finals after taking a lead but losing 2-1.
Today’s news piece was going to be about how that happened but given it was clear to see how Argentina completed their comeback - England sat deep and gave Lionel Messi the freedom of Atlanta - it seemed more interesting to evaluate the Three Lions' summer performances.
Here is every England player graded on a scale from A+ to F.
Jordan Pickford: C
Some top saves but also some moments to forget, including Enzo Fernandez’s equaliser in the semi.
Dean Henderson: NA
Great moral support for the lads.
James Trafford: NA
Passionate Wonderwall singer.
Reece James: D
Countless poor deliveries, average defending, an unwillingness to take risks and injury woes. A disappointing tournament for the man Chelsea fans wrongfully claim is the world’s best right-back.
Djed Spence: C
Nowhere near as bad as most made out, but also nothing spectacular.
Jarell Quansah: F
One average performance, an injury and a two-game ban for a red card which nearly cost England a spot in the quarters. A dreadful tournament.
Marc Guehi: B
Improved England’s defence following the shambles against Croatia and kept Erling Haaland silent in the quarters.
John Stones: C+
Some shaky moments which can be attributed to a lack of minutes in an otherwise solid tournament for the veteran.
Ezri Konsa: C
A couple of good games but also a couple of awful ones. Not a right-back and a bang-average centre-back.
Dan Burn: C
Did his job. However, that job was to simply head balls away, which a League Two defender could have done.
Trevoh Chalobah: NA
Just take an actual full-back next time, Thomas.
Nico O’Reilly: C
Not quite as good as he was under Pep Guardiola but a pretty decent debut tournament for the youngster.
Declan Rice: C-
The high standards he’d set himself mean this was a disappointing tournament for the Arsenal midfielder. Illness wouldn’t have helped, in fairness.
Elliot Anderson: B
Never stopped running and consistently regained possession. Would have liked a bit more from him on the ball, though.
Jordan Henderson: F
Six forgettable minutes against Panama and a broken arm which will land him a spot on the next ‘football’s weirdest injuries’ DVD.
Kobbie Mainoo: NA
Who?
Jude Bellingham: A
England’s best player. The Three Lions wouldn’t have made the semi-finals without him and they must build around him if they are to ever end their trophy drought.
Morgan Rogers: C
Remember when people wanted Rogers to start over Bellingham? Thank goodness he didn’t. A string of average performances before an excellent assist in the semi-final loss.
Eberechi Eze: D
I wonder what Cole Palmer and Morgan Gibbs-White thought of Eze’s consistent lack of impact from the bench…
Noni Madueke: D
No end product made him an ineffective option, even if his ball-carrying ability is impressive.
Bukayo Saka: B
England’s best winger at the World Cup. Three assists in limited minutes shows his quality and it is a shame he wasn’t fully fit.
Anthony Gordon: B
Made the left-wing spot his own, scored in the semi-final, worked extremely hard and provided three important assists.
Marcus Rashford: D
Scored against Croatia before putting in an absolutely woeful performance against DR Congo and, rightfully, hardly being seen again.
Harry Kane: A-
A return of six goals is not to be sniffed at but, as is usually the case in big games, spent the quarter and semi on the periphery when his team needed him most.
Ivan Toney: F
In the squad for penalties which England never went to and made no impact against Argentina.
Ollie Watkins: F
Six minutes against Panama and clearly so bad in training that Tuchel didn’t even trust him to come on when England were facing elimination in the semi-finals.
