Curtis Jones was under pressure. “Get rid!” was the instinctive reaction. There were 48 minutes on the clock in Athens and an inexperienced England were being harried by Greece. They were moving the ball backwards, dropping deeper, and it was clear that Greece’s forwards had spied an opportunity to nick possession in a dangerous area.
How would England respond? Previous generations would have struggled to resist the urge to hoof the ball away. Yet the core principle of Carsball is control, and so this England kept playing. There was no fear of the press. Lewis Hall, who had just come on at left-back, simply turned and played a pass back to another debutant. And Jones, who had drifted back into Hall’s area, stayed cool when two Greece players closed him down.
England’s newest midfielder trusted in his ability. Instead of panicking, Jones realised that, well, he was more talented than his immediate opponents. He held off one with his upper body strength, swerved into space, played a cute reverse pass to Marc Guéhi and kept moving. Always available, always aware, he was ready when Guéhi laid the ball off again on the edge of England’s area. It didn’t matter that people in the stands were waiting for it to go wrong. Jones was slightly off balance when he took Guéhi’s pass, but he was still able to knock the ball to Conor Gallagher, who set England on the attack by turning quickly and spreading the play to Rico Lewis on the right.
The move would not end in a goal. But this was still a significant moment for England. Here was the poise that has so often eluded them. There is, as Gareth Southgate often bemoaned, no English Toni Kroos or Luka Modric. “Declan and who?” was the question posed before Euro 2024 by Southgate, whose inability to find the right balance in midfield last summer eventually caught up with England when they were taken apart by Spain in Berlin.
The same old failings had been on show during the Euros. Southgate started the tournament by experimenting with Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield, only to admit defeat after a game and a half. There was no conviction. The more energetic Gallagher was substituted at half-time against Slovenia. Kobbie Mainoo improved things to an extent. Mainoo is technically gifted and very skilful but he is also young and raw, and Spain exposed his lack of robustness and positional awareness in the final.
And all along, it was hard not to wonder whether England would have been better if Southgate had taken Jones to Germany. The 23-year-old had enjoyed his most productive season in a Liverpool shirt. His only problem was bad timing. Jones was in supreme form before injury meant he missed England’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium last March. His momentum was disrupted and it was not a surprise when Southgate cut him from his provisional squad for the Euros.
It was a missed opportunity, and Jones had to be patient even after the appointment of Lee Carsley as interim head coach. Angel Gomes, the diminutive Lille midfielder, was Carsley’s first big experiment. Gomes, a deep-lying orchestrator, impressed in England’s victories over Finland in Nations League Group B2.
But last Thursday, with England needing a two-goal win over Greece to revive their hopes of returning to the top tier of the Nations League, it was decided that it was time for Jones. Rice was out and so was Mainoo. Carsley had to adjust. He could not ignore Jones’s recent performances at club level. Jones’s game has risen to new heights since the arrival of Arne Slot at Anfield. There is a greater emphasis on midfield in Slot’s Liverpool and Jones has been excellent. He scored the winner when Liverpool beat Chelsea last month and he has grown in stature on and off the pitch. Nobody bats an eyelid if Slot starts the academy product over a more expensive teammate.
International football was still an unknown, though. Plenty of decent theories have fallen apart when put into practice at the highest level. Carsley knows Jones. He leaned on him when England’s under-21s became European champions last year. Greece away, though, was a step up.
Or not. Operating next to Gallagher in a 4-2-3-1, Jones got 86 touches and completed 95.6% of his passes. He was bold, bright and inventive. His standout moment was the backheeled finish that rounded off a 3-0 win. More significant in the long run, though, was how he ensured that England could progress the ball smoothly. They cut through Greece because they were not afraid to recycle possession. Jones was fundamental to the plan.
Carsley was not surprised. He talked about Jones’s versatility afterwards, saying Jones can alternate between advanced and deep roles. There was a buzz. These are, of course, early days. Jones is not really like Modric or Kroos, and he has much to prove against tougher opponents.
Even so Carsley, who is preparing for his final match in charge, against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, has done Thomas Tuchel a favour before the German takes over on 1 January. England finally have another option in midfield. It is too early to say whether Jones is the answer but he deserves a chance to establish himself. It is up to Tuchel to build on Carsley’s foundations. Jones played England out of trouble and himself in contention.
