Throwback Thursday: The forgotten stars when England last played Malta
The domestic football season is over and before the players take their break before pre-season, there are a still a number of international fixtures to be played.
England will continue their European Championship qualification campaign on Friday when they take on Malta having beaten Italy and Ukraine in their opening two matches.
For Throwback Thursday this week, we decided to look back at the last time these sides met, when England ran out 4-0 winners in a 2018 World Cup qualifier, as we highlight some of the potentially forgotten England players from that day and their performances in the game.
A first-team regular in the Manchester United backline, Phil Jones was also a more regular feature in the England setup. He started at the back alongside Chelsea’s Gary Cahill and though as was to be expected, didn’t face much of an attacking threat from Malta, who could only muster four shots in the entire game. Jones was still a valuable asset to have at the back and was well worth his 7.33 WhoScored rating.
The centre-back maintained the best pass success rate of starters (96.3%) in the match and won possession seven times, including four times in the defensive third, while also completing his one attempted dribble. Flashforward to today and Jones in recent months announced that he would be leaving Old Trafford after 12 years with the Red Devils, this coming summer.
England’s left-back against Malta was Ryan Bertrand, who at the time was captain of Southampton. Not renowned for his goalscoring prowess, Bertrand bagged his first international goal to put the Three Lions in front after 85 minutes with a long-range effort. Only Harry Kane (4) registered more key passes than Bertrand (3), while he was defensively sound, too, winning possession in the midfield third three times and allowing no player to dribble past him. Additionally, 72 of his 79 attempted passes were accurate and he won the second most aerial duels (4) to help accumulate a WhoScored rating of 8.42, the third best in the game.
2022/23 has been a tough one for Bertrand as he struggled with injuries for much of the campaign having failed to make a single top-flight appearance for Leicester. After the Foxes' relegation from the Premier League, a number of players have been released, of of which was Bertrand.
One of Tottenham’s brightest players, Dele Alli was coming into this game in real form for Spurs, scoring twice in their opening three matches of the 2017/18 Premier League season. Alli, who had registered 52 key passes in the previous Premier League campaign, created just the one in this game, but that proved useful as it saw Kane England the lead in the 53rd minute. As well as registering an assist, Alli also completed three dribbles and won possession in the attacking third (3) more times than any other player on the night.
To further contribute to his 7.01 WhoScored rating, he also registered three touches in the opposition box and had a shot. However, Alli recently has suffered with injuries while on loan at Besiktas, and has since returned to Everton, though it remains to be seen whether he will remain at Goodison Park after the transfer window has ended.
Jake Livermore was another who many may have forgotten had played for England as recently as 2017. He came into the game after captaining West Brom’s opening Premier League matches, in which they were unbeaten in all three, after their impressive 10th-placed finish the previous season. In this World Cup qualifier against Malta, Livermore earned a WhoScored rating of 7.11 as one of only four players to register at least 100 touches (103) and maintaining a pass success rate of 91.7%, despite attempting the second most passes (96), including 13 passes into the final third, which only Jordan Henderson (18) could better.
It was his off the ball work that he was renowned for and it was no exception against Malta, as he won both of his aerial duels contested and won possession in the midfield third more times (6) than any other player, as well as making one interception. Fastforward to today, and Livermore has played his final season with West Brom, leaving as club captain, after his contract at the Hawthorns expired, though he still intends to carry on playing football for another club at the age of 33.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (6.72)
With only 35 senior appearances for England from his debut in 2012 to today in 2023, you would be forgiven for forgetting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cameos on the international stage, which of course included appearances at Euro 2012. He started against Malta in 2017 the day after signing for Liverpool from Premier League rivals Arsenal, but that news didn’t distract him from having a decent all-round performance to earn himself a 6.72 WhoScored rating.
He played 76 minutes of action, so came off when it was still 1-0, but still managed to impose himself on the game, recording two shots, which only Kane (6) could better. As well as completing one dribble and making six passes into the penalty area, Oxlade-Chamberlain was key in his off the ball work, winning his only aerial duel, making three tackles, one interception and winning possession twice. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s contract at Liverpool expires this summer, with early rumours suggesting Aston Villa are working on trying to sign him.
