No English Tony Cruz. Englishman Andrea Pirlo, Englishman Luka Modric, Englishman Rodry are also absent. Intuitively, everyone knows this. England didn't have earthquakes, England didn't grow citrus fruits and England didn't produce technical central midfielders who could control a game and dictate the tempo of the game. That's how it is.
And so a clear and brace Helsinki night this contradiction Angel Gomes. Ironic because in many ways the player Gomez is trying to be is something the character he's fitted for is not. Naturally, football fans are impatient and like to make instant judgments in a dopamine rush, so he has to be measured against this stratospheric, borderline-impossible standard. He is the English Birloh. Or he doesn't. good luck
Either way, Gomez quickly gets to work. Of course there's a further irony here: a deep midfield role is not one that lends itself to quick judgments or quick decisions. It is not a role judged by moments or flashes of genius, goals or assists, but by longevity and reliability and metronomic consistency, the ability to repeat what is right.
You're not here to create viral content. You are here to be perfect. A hundred passes, it doesn't matter if nobody remembers one of them. At the highest levels of the game, the pressing is ferocious, the centers wide and the edges fine, a job like being an outfield goalkeeper. Your successes will soon be forgotten, but your mistakes will always be disproportionately costly.
Gomes made exactly 100 passes in this game, completing 97, one of which will surely be remembered. Early on Trent Alexander-Arnold played the ball into Gomes, who deliciously turned it into the corner with the outside of his foot, slotting through the gap into the path of Jack Grealish.
It was Gomez's first England assist, a moment of real quality, and perhaps a return of sorts: a moment to settle and reassure him, to convince him he could do a job at this level. So, it's tempting to conclude that this small feat perfectly demonstrates his value to the team. But it isn't.
Because really, England has a lot of players who can do it. Jude Bellingham can do that. Alexander-Arnold and Harry Kane and Bukayo Saga and Phil Foden and Cole Palmer and James Maddison and others. What makes Gomez unique, ultimately cements his place and defines his value, are other things. 99 others passed.
Let's get back to the idea of control. It is often used as a simple synonym for possession, but actually encompasses many things: territorial control, strategic control, emotional control. When England lose control of games, they are often pushed back and forced to carry the ball in less promising areas, relegated to low-percentage options as their emotional composure deserts them. It is a complete package.
So the deep-lying midfielder has the additional function of conveying composure. He quickly gave the ball away in the England half to Finland's Tobi Keskinen in an early chance attack, just before Gomes' assist. And if it feels disproportionate to single out a loose pass in the middle of 97 runs, without fuss, these are simply the grades required for the job.
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But the potential upside is always worth the trouble. Against admittedly limited opposition, Gomes' England were a stark contrast to the chaos at Wembley on Thursday night: composed and methodical, safe in the knowledge that there will always be an outlet for possession. This allowed Declan Rice to step forward in the same way he does for Arsenal, showing enterprise and ambition that was eventually rewarded with England's third goal.
There are no quick results here. No sweeping judgments or wild predictions. But it's worth remembering that the best international midfielders don't simply land on the game fully formed. They are shaped and matured over time. Early Modric and early Kroos were vastly different players from the artists they eventually became: more energetic, more attacking, less reliable, still pushing themselves to the limit. Pirlo was an attacking midfielder into his 20s before gradually dropping further back. Rodri was a pure passer at Villarreal, then a pure destroyer at Atletico, and only relatively recently blossomed into full expression.
Englishmen Kroos/Pirlo/Modric/Rodri won't arrive in lightning delivered by a stork or wrapped in gold. But for now you have Gomes, you have Kobi Mainu, you have Adam Warden, you have Curtis Jones, you have Rico Lewis, and at some point you have to invest in one of these guys long-term. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Gomez may or may not be a boy. But at least England should try to find out.
