3️⃣ points as England breeze through awkward Kosovo test | OneFootball

It was another impressive night for England as they beat Kosovo 4-0 in Pristina on Sunday.

Here are three points we took from the game …

Winks over Rice

Declan Rice has enjoyed a rapid rise for club and country, but Harry Winks proved his worth to England on Sunday.

Playing as a number eight, the Tottenham midfielder recycled possession well, made two tackles and scored a well taken goal after breaking from deep.

Rice has proven himself a reliable squad option with strong defensive instincts, but playing him and Rice together felt unbalanced.

It should be one or the other, and with a full strength side: it’s advantage Winks.

Mings can challenge

On just his second England start, Tyrone Mings proved once again that he can challenge for a starting role under Gareth Southgate.

The Aston Villa defender completed 92% of his passes, won 7 of his 8 duels and even completed three dribbles for good measure.

Atdhe Nuhiu is a persistent, physical presence up top and he marshalled him with ease alongside Harry Maguire.

England boast strong depth in central defence with Joe Gomez, John Stones and Michael Keane – but Mings is making his case.

Kosovo have potential

They weren’t even recognised as a country by Fifa in 2015, so Kosovo can be more than pleased with their efforts.

Milot Rashica was dangerous on the left, Bersant Celina and Valon Berisha were impressive in midfield and Arijanet Muric strong in goal.

Defensively they were found wanting – proven by three lapses of concentration that allowed England to score late on – but positive signs were there.

Following their journey should be interesting.