Right then, I’ll be off. Here’s the match report again. Bye! “I think this match is instructive,” says Colum Fordham. “It shows Southgate is not up to scratch at crucial moments in matches. As happened in the final against Italy when Sancho and Grealish should have come on in the second half and today when Henderson should have come on at the very least to steady the ship. Southgate never reacts at the right moment.” I don’t really disagree. Southgate is in significant credit in the national-team management bank, but his teams often do not lead well, and don’t seem to learn from their mistakes. David Hytner has recovered from Poland’s highly inconvenient (for match reporters) late goal and sent in his match report: With 72 minutes on the clock, the thought occurred that Harry Kane had not had much service. It was partly because the England captain was trying to provide it for others, dropping back from his centre-forward’s position to pick his passes. It was time for Kane to take matters into his own hands. The ball was worked to him at the top of the midfield and, with little on and Poland players backing off him rather too respectfully, Kane unloaded with murderous intent. The 30 yarder would have rearranged Jan Bednarek’s senses had it been slightly lower. Instead it flew over the centre-half before dipping and fading viciously away from Wojciech Szczesny’s left hand and into the bottom corner. At that point, England looked well set for the victory that would have virtually assured them of direct qualification to the finals of the Qatar World Cup next year. They had come to control the second half of this match and yet there would be a twist. Harry Kane says some things: Obviously a tough one to take. I thought we handled the game really well, got ourselves ahead and we were seeing the game out well. Away from home sometimes the pressure builds, they put in a good cross and scored a good header. That’s football. We’ll learn from it, we’ll watch it back and prepare for the next game. There’s been two tough away games in this camp, we’re still five points clear, so we’re in a great position. Elsewhere, Wales were held at home by Estonia and Ben Fisher was there to watch it: What, on paper, should have been Wales’s easiest game of their World Cup qualifying campaign turned into a taxing assignment as they were held 0-0 at home to Estonia. Gareth Bale and Ethan Ampadu struck the woodwork late on but Wales plateaued to allow the visitors to pick up their first point. Robert Page prowled the technical area as Wales huffed and puffed but failed to find a route through, damaging hopes of automatic qualification. The most moving aspect of a balmy evening was no contest. In the 52nd minute, supporters stood for a minute’s applause on what would have been the late Wales captain and manager Gary Speed’s 52nd birthday. How the Wales support enjoyed returning in their numbers for the first time since witnessing Aaron Ramsey, absent here through injury, seal qualification for Euro 2020. A crowd of 6,500 wished Wales well after their final warmup game against Albania in June but this was much closer to the real thing – more than treble that attendance – and when the pre-match anthems finished with a few minutes to spare before kick-off, it allowed the fans to run through their favourite songs, a chance to serenade Bale and Danny Ward, as well as an opportunity to rejoice in England’s failure to bring football home. A good game, that: played at a high tempo, with two quality goals and a bit of spice, played in a good atmosphere. I do think that if as a manager you make no substitutions while your opponents make five, and then your team concedes in stoppage time, you will and should face questions about whether your side might have finished the game stronger if you had done some more managing. Final score: Poland 1-1 England 90+4 mins: Having conceded in stoppage time England will be smarting, and Poland haven’t done much this half, but over the 90 minutes they didn’t concede a single significant chance and didn’t deserve to lose. The final whistle goes, and it’s a point apiece! 90+3 mins: The scorer is booked for taking his shirt off during the celebrations, which were extraordinarily enthusiastic. GOAL! Poland 1-1 England (Szymanski, 90+2 mins) In the end Lewandowski’s killer moment is as provider, chipping in a peach of a cross cross and Szymanaki beats Shaw and heads in! 90+1 mins: There will be four minutes of stoppage time. 90 mins: Poland have hogged the ball for the last few minutes, but haven’t really done anything with it. Finally a cross deflects off Mount back to Pickford. 89 mins: Lewandowski demands the ball, brings down a long, high pass impeccably, shifts the ball onto his right foot and curls high and wide. 86 mins: If results stay as they are, neither San Marino nor Andorra would be able to catch England. Not that they would have caught England anyway, but still. One less thing to worry about, if you’re the type of person who worries about everything. 83 mins: Andorra have pulled a goal back in Budapest, and are now only 2-1 down to Hungary. Albania lead the Sammarinese 5-0. 81 mins: Nearly a classic calamity goal! Pickford delays his kick, allows Swiderski to close him down and then boots his clearance into the onrushing Pole. The ball deflects back towards goal, but Pickford races back to stop it crossing the line! 80 mins: Poland make all the changes, bringing on Helik for Glik, Rybus for Puchacz and Frankowski for Jozwiak. 79 mins: Linetty is pickpocketed by Phillips and then takes away Kane’s legs as he tries to win the ball back. Another booking. 78 mins: Puchacz’s next contribution is less pretty, and he’s booked for tripping Sterling. 77 mins: A pretty pass from Puchacz but it’s too far in front of Swiderski, and Pickford collects. 76 mins: “Isn’t that very Harry Kane?” suggests Callum Farrelly, while Glik gets some treatment off-pitch. “Useless all night and then that!” Well not really. It’s a bit Kane-for-England, but I don’t think he can generally be accused of being peripheral. 73 mins: A remarkable shot from Kane, which heads right down the middle of goal towards Szczesny before making a last-minute decision to turn right. It’s from way out, it doesn’t go in the corner, and Szczesny has no chance. GOAL! Poland 0-1 England (Kane, 72 mins) Harold Kane just spanks one into the bottom corner from 25 yards! 71 mins: Lewandowski’s low 20-yarder skims into Pickford’s arms. 70 mins: The wind has been sucked out of England’s sails a bit these last few minutes, and it might soon be time for Southgate to flex his substitutional muscles. 68 mins: Another change for the hosts, who take off Krychowiak and bring on Damian Szymanski. 66 mins: Poland’s first real attack of the half sees Puchacz run into the box before lashing a left-foot shot wide from an acute angle. 64 mins: Group I update: It’s still Hungary 2-0 Andorra while the floodgates have opened in Elbasan, where it’s Albania 4-0 San Marino. 63 mins: Poland bring Karol Swiderski on for Adam Buksa. 61 mins: Close! The ball is knocked into the mixer, and Maguire’s header loops against the post before the offside Sterling touches it. 60 mins: Grealish sees Krychowiak coming across to challenge him, so knocks the ball the other way and lets himself get taken out. Krychowiak is booked. 59 mins: Whatever Gareth Southgate said at half-time, he could have done with saying it before kick-off. There is a strong scent of away goal in the air right now. 56 mins: Sterling is played into space on the right, and this time Kane is in the middle, but he cuts inside and Bednarek gets across to snuffle out the danger. 54 mins: Phillips has a 25-yard shot that goes down as England’s first shot on target. Sczczesny catches. 51 mins: England have started the half excellently, and have repeatedly worked the ball into the Poland area. They still haven’t made a clear chance, mind, and Kane isn’t getting into goalscoring positions as often as he might. 48 mins: Sterling does a couple of nice turns in the area, sitting a defender down stylishly but then not picking out either a cross or a pass so just dribbling around a bit until someone takes the ball off him. 47 mins: Close! Grealish slides the ball across goal from the left, but there was nobody there to tap it in! England thought Szczesny had tipped it wide, but the referee didn’t. 46 mins: Peeeeeep! England start the second half. “Hi from Norway Simon,” writes Brendan Large. Hello! “Just wondering how the ref can book Phillips for someone else put their foot under his whilst landing and then Glik gets the same for randomly pinching the skin under Walker’s chin and then some wind up shithousery to Maguire?” Really I think the Phillips booking was a mistake, that Daniel Siebert himself would surely agree if he got the chance to see it again, and we should probably just put it behind us. The players are back out, with no sign of any changes so far. Polish readers: is Simon Chadwick’s Polish football magazine as scary as it looks? Well this is quite tasty. Poland have worked hard, defended spaces well, closed down space superbly, and towards the end of the half indulged in a little light shithousery. They have also had a few chances, or nearly-chances, and overall England will be pleased to have got to the break without conceding. Stones, incidentally, played on until the break. Half time: Poland 0-0 England 45+3 mins: Handbags! There’s some afters as the players leave the field following the referee’s half-timely whistle. It’s hard to see who did what but at the end of it Glik, who he should have booked moments earlier, and Maguire are both cautioned and the players finally leave the field. 45+2 mins: England concede a free kick, wide on Poland’s left and midway into the England half. There’s some intensive jostling on the defensive line while the Poles wait to take it - Glik pinches the fleshy part underneath Walker’s chin right in front of the referee and gets away with it. Then the free kick is taken, and headed away. 45+1 mins: England work a shooting opportunity for Phillips, but Glik is out superbly to block. 45+2 mins: The referee would like there to be two minutes of stoppage time, please.