ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate had plenty to take in during his trip to Goodison Park on Wednesday night, where 10 English players took to the field in the meeting between Everton and Leicester City. 

It was a game which had the potential to change the order at the top of the Premier League table, but both had to settle for a point with Youri Tielemans’s second-half strike cancelling out James Rodriguez’s earlier wondergoal.

The English enterprise of the Leicester contingent will have impressed Southgate, with Harvey Barnes, James Maddison and James Justin all reaffirming their talent.

Their creativity was tested against Everton’s strong low block, assumed after they took the lead through Rodriguez. The Colombian’s right-footed shot from outside the box had Kasper Schmeichel rooted to the spot as it sneaked in off the far post.

That Leicester weren’t able to create many clear chances was as much down to Everton’s defence rather than any failure on the part of those players.

That defence contained three Englishmen — Mason Holgate, Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey, with the latter pair especially impressing this season.

Barnes’s pace and directness managed to get the better of Holgate early on, while a trademark Maddison shot from distance flew just over. 

Justin had one of the best chances to score, which he couldn’t take, but his all-round performance wouldn’t have done his chances of a first senior England cap any harm.

Behind that Everton backline, Jordan Pickford had been enjoying one of his most error-free spells in goal, but his inability to deal with long shots was evident again as he failed to control Tielemans’s speculative effort.

“The goal was difficult because the view of Jordan was not so good,” Ancelotti said in support of his goalkeeper. “There were a lot of legs there, so he had difficulties to catch the ball and unfortunately they scored.”

At the other end of the pitch, Ancelotti admitted this wasn’t the best game for England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but this was through no fault of his own.

“It was not the game for Calvert-Lewin because after we scored we didn’t have opportunities to go for the second, so it was a difficult game for him,” added the Italian. 

“His condition is good. He scored on Sunday, and I hope he’s going to score on Saturday [against Newcastle].”

Maybe Southgate learned a lot, but it’s more likely the game just confirmed what he already knew. 

With Nick Pope putting in another stellar display between the posts over in Burnley, one decision seems clear, but the impressive recent performances of Barnes, Maddison, Justin, Godfrey and Keane have made sure others will be less so.