How did new Liverpool signing Dominic Solanke do in England’s U20 World Cup win over Costa Rica? We analyse his display…
The acquisition from Chelsea impressed as Paul Simpson’s team progressed to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory.
Liverpool confirm Solanke deal
Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Dominic Solanke from Chelsea
Here, we pick out Solanke’s key moments…
11: After an opening 10 minutes of being on the back foot, England got their passing game going and we began to see more of Solanke, who was dropping deep to get involved with the play, much like Daniel Sturridge does for Liverpool. His end product was a little inconsistent but his one-touch play, linking with Everton man Dominic Calvert-Lewin threatened to open up the Costa Rica defence without creating a clear-cut chance.
Lookman fires England through
England won 2-1 against Costa Rica to reach the Under-20 World Cup quarter-finals
19: Moments like this show why Jurgen Klopp has taken a chance on the striker. It was perhaps the only time in the game he got to show his explosive pace and power. Moving the ball past a defender down the right, Solanke sprinted into the box but then looked in two minds about whether to pass or go for goal. He decided to fizz a ball across the six-yard box but a defender deflected it away for a corner.
35: Dropping deep into the No.10 role, Solanke showed good awareness and whipped a ball out to impressive Everton youngster Jonjoe Kenny. From there, full-back Kenny crossed for Ademola Lookman to score.
63: One thing perhaps absent in the final third at Anfield this season was a physical threat. The lack of a direct option when their passing game failed to spark drew criticism from the likes of Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher. Could Solanke be the answer? Although far from just a target man, he’s a brute of a striker who stands at over 6ft. Here, he showed a clear capability of winning aerial balls that were delivered up to him as he flicked on a clever header that sparked a counter attack which was finished off by Lookman to double England’s advantage.
72: Putting your head in where it hurts also is a requirement for any striker who wants to carve out a career of scoring regularly – and Solanke showed a glimpse of his bravery when jumping with Costa Rica goalkeeper Adonis Pineda to attack a high ball. After taking a knee in the back from Pineda, he then fell to the ground with a bang and landed awkwardly on his shoulder. However, after a dab of the magic sponge, he re-joined his teammates to see the game out.
