Talking Tactics: Plenty for Southgate to ponder as England toil to Scotland draw

England were left with more questions than answers after a miserable goalless draw with Scotland at Wembley last night.

Gareth Southgate’s side started well and went closest when an unmarked John Stones crashed a header against the post.

The Three Lions wilted after that but Scotland grew into the game.

In fact, Steve Clarke’s side may have recorded a famous victory had Reece James not instinctively headed Lyndon Dykes’ effort off the line, while Stephen O’Donnell also forced a good save from Jordan Pickford.

More Kane pain

Harry Kane bore the brunt of the frustration from the home crowd after another anonymous display.

Southgate’s decision to replace his captain with Marcus Rashford in the 74th minute was indicative of his performances so far.

Across England’s two Group D games, Kane has had just six touches in the opposition box and mustered three shots — none of which have been on target.

Explaining his decision, Southgate said: "I felt like we needed a few more runs in behind, Marcus gave us energy."

Whether Kane, 27, is unfit or simply distracted by talk about his future is unclear. But it is hard to justify his position in the side on the evidence of England's opening two games.

Scottish changes pay off

The post-mortem from Scotland’s 2-0 defeat to the Czech Republic centred around the selection decisions made by Clarke.

But the former Kilmarnock and West Brom boss was unafraid to ring the changes for the trip to Wembley, bringing in the fit-again Kieran Tierney, Billy Gilmour, Che Adams and Callum McGregor.

His decisions were more than vindicated — particularly in the case of Gilmour, who was making his first start for the Tartan Army.

The Chelsea ace, 20, was the best midfielder on the pitch.

No one in blue attempted (43) or completed (39) more passes than him as he played with a maturity and assurance beyond his years.

One-dimensional England

The biggest criticism of England’s play was how slow and sterile their possession was.

After the game, Tyrone Mings admitted he and his team-mates had lacked “intensity”.

Southgate’s side might have outpassed their visitors 529 to 336 but they struggled to make their supremacy count, going sideways and backwards without any hint of penetration for long periods.

Mason Mount was the England attacker with the most passes (37) but he was 11th overall, with England’s back four and Declan Rice all seeing more of the ball.

That allowed Scotland to fall back into shape with wing-backs O’Donnell and Andy Robertson dropping in to make a back five and block up the pitch.

With space at a premium, England could not use the outlets of Phil Foden or Raheem Sterling to get in behind and they looked devoid of ideas.

Adams grabs chance

The other big winner for Scotland was Southampton striker Adams.

Brought into the team in place of Ryan Christie after an encouraging cameo against the Czech Republic, he worked tirelessly.

With five attempts, the 24-year-old had more efforts on goal than anyone on the pitch and recorded more carries in excess of five metres (eight) than any other Scotland player.

Together with QPR striker Dykes, he kept England’s backline on their toes with his direct running.

Despite managing significantly fewer passes into the final third (76 vs 122), Scotland turned England and got them running towards their own goal on several occasions.

Jack in the box

Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho must be wondering what they have to do to get more minutes.

The former did at least make it off the bench, much to the relief of England supporters, but Sancho was unused after missing the cut entirely against Croatia.

This was the sort of tight, tetchy affair crying out for a ball carrier of Grealish or Sancho’s quality.

England had huffed and puffed without success for more than an hour before Southgate relented and introduced the Aston Villa skipper.

Even then, it was Foden — who had come close in the first half — who made way.

Sancho, meanwhile, was left unused as England opted to use just two of their permitted five changes.

The Borussia Dortmund winger had a superb end to the season in the Bundesliga and finished the campaign with 16 goals and 19 assists in all competitions.

Southgate is loyal to a fault. It’s why Pickford has remained England’s No1 even while struggling at Everton. Kieran Trippier is another beneficiary of his manager’s unwavering trust.

But newcomers to the squad routinely struggle to convince the Three Lions boss of their value and Sancho is just the latest.