Five things we learned from England's international break

Whether you loved it or hated it, the international break offered us another glimpse at England under Gareth Southgate.

Following their impressive World Cup run, this was a chance to see a few new faces, some old ones and what the future might hold for this side.

Here are five things we learned from the games against Spain and Switzerland.

Pickford is pulling clear

Following the phasing out of Joe Hart, England looked to have some bright goalkeeping options in Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Jack Butland and Tom Heaton.

But on his big night, Butland was far from convincing at the King Power Stadium. His distribution was poor, the commanding presence fans have come to expect seems to have diminished and his shot stopping looks inconsistent at best. He was lucky not to concede after leaving hearts in mouths with a stray pass early on.

The 25-year-old is talented goalkeeper but he seems to have stagnated at Stoke and Pickford is slowly pulling away as the clear number one option.

Full backs

There may be a lack of competition in goal, but it couldn’t be more different at full back. Playing three centre backs allows your wide men to bomb forward which suits every option in the squad.

Kieran Trippier was superb in Russia, but Kyle Walker offered a glimpse of what he can still offer on the right, providing the assist for Rashford with a typically positive forward run. Luke Shaw looks to have found his feet again and was excellent against Spain before his untimely injury, but Danny Rose offers strong competition for that place.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Chilwell also coming through, England look to be stacked for years in this position which is hugely positive considering the attacking demands of modern football.

Lack of a link man

Southgate deserves praise for his ambitious formation, but what has become evidently clear is that England lack a ‘link man’ in midfield.

Against Spain, it was Jordan Henderson deep with Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli slightly further forward. Against Switzerland, it was Eric Dier with Fabian Delph and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the advanced roles. All talented players in their own right but none have the ability to break lines or control the tempo.

The likes of Lewis Cook (21), Will Hughes (23) and Harry Winks (22) would be wise to tailor their games for this role because there is a clear opening in the side.

Rashford and Loftus-Cheek need games

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has made 59 senior appearances at 22 years of age. Dele Alli has made 238 senior appearances at 22 years of age. This is a problem.

The Lewisham born midfielder recently spoke about “biding his time” at Chelsea, but without playing regularly could fall into the trap of becoming another ‘what if’. Southgate obviously rates him but he can’t keep selecting him if he doesn’t warrant that right. Marcus Rashford is also suffering at Manchester United – albeit to a lesser extent.

He is one of England’s brightest talents and showed everyone why with two goals against high level opposition, but needs to be given the opportunity to regularly influence games – something which is difficult to do in substitute cameos from wide areas.

Time for Plan B?

Every side needs a different way of playing when things aren’t going well, but England don’t quite seem to have that right now.

France switching from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 arguably won them the World Cup, Spain swapped possession based football for a more direct style with Rodrigo and Diego Costa leading the line and Brazil can be physical or technical depending on what the game desires.

Southgate has the personnel at his disposal to play with direct wide men, to press and counter in midfield or to go long against high lines. It feels like he is forcing his current system a bit too much through desperation for it to work – but switching things up might not be a bad thing.