ITV pundits Roy Keane and Ian Wright heaped praise on Curtis Jones after the Liverpool midfielder displayed his “football intelligence” on a brilliant goal on his England debut.
On Thursday, England faced off against Greece in the UEFA Nations League, with Jones providing the kill shot in the Three Lions’ 3-0 win. In the 83rd minute, Morgan Gibbs-White cut a pass into the middle for the 23-year-old, who flicked it past the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos and into the back of the net.
Moments after the masterful score, ITV’s cast of pundits marveled at the determination and high football IQ that Jones displayed during the scoring effort. “Look at Curtis Jones there [sprinting from his own half] and how determined he is. He wants to try and get into the box,” Wright said.
Discussing the goal, he added: “He doesn’t get too far ahead of it, and he’s got the capability and ability to adjust himself and do that.”
Keane expressed a similar sentiment, chiming in: “When you see him breaking in there, and you heard the manager before the game saying about him sitting deep, he looked and went ‘I want some of the action’. It’s just football intelligence.”
Prior to the November international break, Jones had shown flashes of brilliance with The Reds, who currently sit atop the Premier League leaderboard with a five-point cushion over Manchester City. Ahead of Thursday’s match, Keane and Wright noted the player’s positive development under Liverpool boss Arne Slot.
“I think he’s matured along nicely,” Keane said of Jones. “He’s done well under age and Lee Carsley trusts him, he’s worked with him before. His club team are playing really well, top of the league – and his form is looking really good. We talk about energy, his stats – do you know, give him an opportunity.
“It’s a test for him tonight. It’s very rarely you get a chance at international, and it’s a must-win game for England. So it’s a big opportunity. We’ll see how he deals with that.”
Wright added: “He [Carsley] did say he’s going to play him a bit deeper. He can deal with that. He can play that, play 8 and arrive late to the box, see him play 10 as well – where he can put the ball through into runners. I’m excited for him. He deserves his chance.”
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After making history by becoming the first Liverpool player to net a goal in his England debut since Sammy Lee in November of 1982, Jones deflected much of the credit for the score to his teammates. “When I was out there I was playing free, I had a smile on my face. I was enjoying it and I’m happy it came with a goal as well,” he said while speaking to reporters following the match.
“The lads around helped. We’ve got a team where I can go high, come low, I can get on the ball. There are lads there to help and there are also lads who said I could go and Jude stayed back. I had a chance to shoot at their goal and that’s what I did. Lucky enough, I scored.”
