Leeds United star Joe Rodon ripped to shreds over ‘staggeringly bad’ moment on Wales duty
Joe Rodon and his Wales teammates had a night to forget as they were easily beaten 3-0 by England at Wembley.
Plenty of Leeds United players were in action in Thursday’s friendly, with Karl Darlow earning praise from Ian Wright for a magnificent save.
Rodon started as Wales found themselves three goals down inside 20 minutes, ending the contest before it had ever truly got going.
Wales were looking to end a 48-year hoodoo against England but it was not to be, and there were mixed reviews over Rodon’s performance in particular.
Joe Rodon slammed over marking in heavy Wales defeat
Rodon has impressed for Leeds in the Premier League and has rarely put a foot wrong since joining from Tottenam.
However, The Guardian slammed the centre-back for his “staggeringly bad” marking from set-pieces against England and said he “provided no leadership” from the back in a 3/10 display.
That view could not be more contrasting to the way Wales Online saw Rodon’s performance, as they gave him labelled him the ‘star man’ in a 7/10 showing and said his defending prevented an even bigger loss.
Y Clwb Pêl-droed, meanwhile, gave Rodon a 6/10 and said he was “one of the few defenders to deal with crosses effectively”, while also describing him as Wales’ best player on the night.
6/10 is also the rating BBC Sport Wales went with, as Rodon kept England at bay as they put Wales under intense pressure.
What other Leeds United players were in action in England vs Wales?
As mentioned, Darlow was in goal for Wales and earned praise for some moments, but ultimately shipped three times.
Ethan Ampadu also played a little over an hour for Wales on what was a rather mixed performance individually speaking.
- Leeds return to action on 18 October with a trip to Burnley
- Then host West Ham in the Friday night game the following week
- Trips to Brighton and Nottingham Forest follow before the next international break
For Wales, the most important thing was keeping players fresh for Monday’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Belgium in Cardiff.
Ampadu, Rodon and Darlow will each start that match and every Leeds fan will simply hope they come through unscathed ahead of the trip to Burnley five days later.
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