West Ham United: Matt Upson admires attitude of Jarrod Bowen in England defeat
England suffered a 1-0 defeat to Hungary on Saturday (4 June) as West Ham United winger Jarrod Bowen made his Three Lions debut.
The 25-year-old winger is in his first international window with England after a fantastic season at the London Stadium which saw 12 goals and 12 assists next to his name after the curtain came down on the 2021-22 campaign.
He wasn’t initially expected to start with Phil Foden the favourite to play on the right-hand side but the Manchester City attacker tested positive for COVID-19 before the game which saw Bowen promoted to the starting XI in Budapest.
It wasn’t to be for Gareth Southgate’s side as the tie was settled with a second-half penalty but Bowen impressed on his first appearance for his country and Matt Upson was particularly attentive to his display.
“You never see Jarrod Bowen give anything up,” Upson said on the BBC live blog (5:22pm). “He gets the balls that, at times, he seems to have no right to get a hold of.”
Just the start
It may have only been his first game for the Three Lions but it almost certainly won’t be his last as he provided the only bright spark on a soulless night for England.
He will have loved every second of that game, even without a crowd due to a UEFA ban on Hungary, and to play alongside his good mate and fellow West Ham star Declan Rice will have made it all the sweeter.
Rice, of course, is an almost ever-present for Southgate in the middle of the park so his experience of the occasion will have no doubt been passed onto Bowen who showed all the composure required to be a top-drawer international player.
The manager has to realise how good he is at the moment and the confidence he has after his best season to date and keep him in the side over the likes of Foden and others because he can come good for us.
Unless Manchester United suddenly fly to the top of the league next season, he has to be given the nod over Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford too and Bukayo Saka is another who can’t hold a torch to the 25-year-old when he is at his best.
In other West Ham news, this £10million Serie A ace could be about to be thrown out the door to accommodate for his manager’s new tactic and the Irons want to swoop and sign him.
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