Ross Barkley produced a man-of-the-match display in England’s 2-0 European Championship Qualifying win over Estonia on Friday evening and boss Roy Hodgson believes the midfielder is coming of age in an international jersey.
Barkley was the creative hub for everything England did at Wembley Stadium and crafted the opening goal for Theo Walcott with an exquisite pass before Raheem Sterling added the second late on.
That ensured the Three Lions maintained their 100 per cent qualifying record with a ninth consecutive win in Group E and Hodgson acknowledged that Everton midfielder Barkley is a key cog in his plans.
England 2-0 Estonia
UEFA Euro 2016
Group E Qualifier
Friday 9 October 2015
Wembley Stadium connected by EE
“I think Ross Barkley has been important to the group for a long time and he’s been maturing over a long period of time,” said Hodgson.
“We’ve seen it in his performances for Everton and his performances for England too.
“It was great for him to play as well as he did tonight for England in an important qualifying match.
“I thought there were other very good performances apart from his, so I imagine it wasn’t an easy job to choose the man of the match but I’m pleased that Ross has got it.
“He deserves a lot of credit and a lot of plaudits for the way he played.”
Hodgson went on to confirm that Wayne Rooney, captain for the night Gary Cahill, Michael Carrick, Joe Hart and James Milner will be rested for the final qualifier in Lithuania on Monday.
Walcott forced Estonia goalkeeper Mihkel Aksalu into an early save with a well-struck volley but England struggled to break down a resilient visiting defence.
However, on the stroke of half-time Barkley produced a pinpoint pass to release Walcott who took a touch before tucking the ball into the corner.
Walcott celebrates after opening the scoring at Wembley
Barkley continued to create chances after the break and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself but with five minutes left substitute Jamie Vardy squared for Sterling to fire home goal number two.
And as they prepare to take on Lithuania in Vilnius in their final qualifying match on Monday evening, England stand-in captain Gary Cahill insists the patience shown against Estonia bodes well.
“We put in a good performance,” said Cahill, who skippered England for the first time in the absence of Wayne Rooney.
“In the first half I thought we had to be very patient but we worked hard and got our goal.
“We carried on in the second half, created a lot of chances and thankfully we kept this winning run going.
“It was important to be patient – we had a few chances early on which we couldn’t take but the performance was good and we got what I thought we deserved.”