The England we saw against Romania will be different to Croatia opener

Before anybody gets too judgemental about another patchy England performance, it’s worth noting that this wasn’t really England anyway. Certainly it was not a version of the England we will see against Croatia at Wembley next Sunday.

How many of this starting eleven realistically get in Gareth Southgate’s team at the weekend? Three or four at a push perhaps?

Even by the standards of pre-tournament friendlies, this all felt a little odd. Southgate’s team had three players in it who – at kick-off – were not even in his squad for the European Championship. That surely must be a first.

So there was not an awful lot to learn, only a confirmation of what we already know. Some of that was good and some of it not so good.

Jack Grealish was once again England’s best player. The Aston Villa forward has not allowed his recent shin injury to interrupt his seamless adaptation to international football and it now seems inconceivable he won’t be in Southgate’s team when the tournament begins.

His ability to win free-kicks in the kind of places from which English teams can traditionally profit should not be under-valued, for a start.

Marcus Rashford ran in to spaces behind the Romania defence in a way that nobody really did against Austria last Wednesday and converted a super penalty. Meanwhile goalkeeper Sam Johnstone’s late save to ensure England at least won the game was one of the best by anyone over the course of the season just finished.

On the other side of Southgate’s coin was some uncertain defending and another less than impressive 90 minutes by centre half Tyrone Mings.

If Grealish has played his way in to the England team over the course of the last 180 minutes of football then his club mate at times has looked as though he has been doing his best to do exactly the opposite.

The more Southgate will think about the way his team has defended in the absence of Harry Maguire during the last week, the more he may be tempted to revert to a three-man backline against a Croatia team that will be more clinical than either Austria or Romania managed to be.

England have given up far too many chances against two average sides – Romania are not even in the tournament – and that should worry Southgate a little.

Midway through the second half Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham came on as substitutes. Strange as it sounds when discussing two young footballers, it felt a little like the cavalry had arrived.

Sitting in the stand unused after their Champions League exertions were Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Ben Chilwell.

Could they have played for half an hour here? It seems a stretch to think that they could not have. Regardless, most if not all of them will start against Croatia and that brings us neatly to the matter of Jordan Henderson.

England could do with the experience and temperament of the Liverpool captain in the team, for sure. His missed penalty here should not be dwelled upon. He probably should not have taken it but that doesn’t really matter.

What is more pertinent is whether he can be expected to play much part in the Euros. Before kick-off here there was some typically edgy punditry by ITV’s Roy Keane.

Dismissing the notion that Henderson’s presence in the England camp could be helpful for morale, Keane said: ‘Clearly Jordan’s not fit. I don’t think he should be involved.

‘I’ve heard people say they want him around the place. For what? Does he do card tricks?

‘Does he have a sing song? Does he do quizzes in the evenings?’

Keane famously took Manchester United’s quizzes very seriously back when they were a staple of the club’s away trips under Sir Alex Ferguson. If that surprises you, seek out the You Tube footage.

So, as it happens, did Wayne Rooney and the former England forward had a more considered view on how difficult it will be for Henderson to figure this summer having previously not played since February.

Rooney came in to the 2006 World Cup and 2012 Euros on the back of an injury and wrote in the Sunday Times yesterday: ‘You do everything in training. You feel good but then you’re thrown in to a tournament game and things feel very different.

‘It’s the expectation, the pressure, the build-up. It all takes a lot out of you and if you’re not fully fit you get found out.’

Every player is different and what can be taken for granted is that Henderson will have managed his recovery in the most professional way possible. Equally there is no substitute for competitive play and what the 30-year-old experienced here can only loosely be described as that.

Fielding Henderson against Croatia feels like a no-go and after that comes a Friday night game with Scotland, likely to be the most frenetic England international for years.

If England win their opening game then the debate over Henderson’s value will cool a little anyway. They will have to be better than this to do that but there is no reason to think they won’t be.

This was England in name only. We now await the end of what has been a particular phoney war.