As expected, Chelsea captain Reece James was named in the starting XI for England’s World Cup opener against Croatia, which ended in a 4-2 win for the Three Lions.
When he was fit, James was Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice right wing-back at Chelsea, and the German has made him a key player once again with the England national team.
James did pretty well against Costa Rica in the Three Lions’ final warm-up match, but how did he get on in his first-ever World Cup game?
How would you rate Reece James’ display against Croatia 1️⃣-🔟?
Reece James’ first-half performance against Croatia
James came alive towards the end of the first half. No one managed to get on to the end of them, but the defender put in two terrific crosses.
Before that, it was his former Chelsea teammate Noni Madueke who was providing all the threat down the right-hand side.
There was not much he could do about Croatia’s first goal; Martin Baturina’s strike was a stunning one. However, he was outsmarted by Ivan Perisic’s run that helped Zlatko Dalic’s side draw level again and make the score 2-2.
Chelsea fans would have wanted to see James on the ball a bit more, but from an England perspective, it did not really matter. Harry Kane got the job done in attack in the first 45 minutes with a brace.
Whatever the case, James is an untouchable at Chelsea and is likely to be that for England at this tournament after Tino Livramento’s withdrawal because of injury.
Reece James’ second-half performance against Croatia
James is a brilliant crosser of the ball, but much like in the first half, England’s threat in the second half was coming from Madueke on the right and Declan Rice’s corners.
All in all, it was not James’ best offensive performance in either half. He finished the game with zero key passes, zero successful dribbles and zero accurate crosses completed, as per Sofascore.
As the tournament goes on, Chelsea supporters will want to see James make more of an impact. James and Trevoh Chalobah are the only Chelsea representatives in the England squad, with the latter receiving a late call-up due to Livramento’s injury.
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