Chris Smalling grabs late winner as England beat 10-man Portugal

England and Portugal, potential quarter-final opponents in France, combined for a lacklustre friendly at Wembley, wonn by Chris Smalling's 86th minute header.

Set up in a diamond formation that compromised more or less every attacking player, England created very little - their best chance in the opening exchanges fell to Wayne Rooney, his shot superbly saved by Rui Patricio - but it turned out that he was offside in any case.

Then, with just under 10 minutes of the first half remaining, Bruno Alves launched himself into a flying kick that nearly tore Harry Kane's face from its moorings. Fortunately, he took the impact on the forehead; Alves received as merited and obvious a red card as could possibly be, though Nani and Ricardo Carvalho were predictably incensed.

In the second half England again struggled to muster any attacking cohesion, with Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane forced out wide, Dele Alli uncomfortable on the left, and no winger on the pitch to stretch the away defence. But just as a draw looked inevitable, Patricio flapped away a free-kick, Raheem Sterling crossed, and Smalling guided in an excellent, controlled header.

Put simply: no. Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy are England’s form forwards while Dele Alli offers so much more in the number 10 role. In fact, Roy Hodgson’s attempts to shoehorn Rooney into the side left England looking lopsided for much of the match. If England are to perform to their potential at the Euros then Rooney needs dropping.

Not many candidates, but Kyle Walker was involved in most of England "best" moments, sharp in the tackle, quick to break and thoughtful in possession. He may have done enough to wrest a first XI spot from Nathaniel Clyne.

England: Hart 6, Walker 8, Cahill 6, Smalling 7, Rose 6, Dier 6, Alli 6, Milner 4, Rooney 5, Kane 5, Vardy 4. Subs: Sterling 7, Lallana 7, Henderson 6, Sturridge 6, Wilshere 7.

Portugal: Rui Patricio 6, Vieirinha 6, Bruno Alves 3, Carvalho 7, Eliseu 6, Joao Moutinho 7, Joao Mario 6, Danilo Pereira 6, Nani 5, Rafa 6, Adrien Silva 6. Subs: Fonte 6, Eder 5, William Carvalho 6, Andre Gomes 6, Renato Sanches 6, Quaresma 6.

35' RED CARD! BRUNO ALVES IS SENT-OFF! Kane goes to head a bouncing ball into his path, so naturally Alves sprints into a spectacularly ridiculous hitchkick that nearly tears his face off. Nani (c) and Carvalho are outraged, but that's cheery-bye, ta-ra and goodnight.

39' Lovely from Rooney, picking up possession in centrefield and whizzing a low ball out to Kane on the right. He shifts it into his stride and tries a cross-shot, but scuffs it, allowing Patricio to save.

63' A shot! Dier, advancing left of centre, tries a curler from 30 yards. Rui Patricio saves easily.

81' The ball bounces alongside Sturridge as he's on the half turn, and he uses the pace to swivel into a shot - it flies a yard or two wide.

84' Quaresma finds some space just outside the England box on the left-hand side and Smalling, drawn towards him, is turned outside then inside. This creates the space for a shot, but Quaresma flights it just past the far top corner.

86' Smalling's goal decided the game and was the product of the kind of football England ought to have played much earlier: ball out wide, men in the box, swift and accurate cross, game over.

England's last three goals have been scored by three different Manchester United players (Rashford, Rooney, Smalling)

Bruno Alves is the first player to be sent off in an England game at Wembley since Steven Gerrard vs Ukraine in Sep 2012

England have conceded just 3 goals in their last 10 games at Wembley, though 2 of these were last time out against Netherlands.

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