England 2 Ecuador 2: Sterling sees red as injuries strike England

In the humid Floridian climate, Enner Valencia headed Ecuador in front after some sloppy defending by Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw.

Wayne Rooney equalised and Rickie Lambert brilliantly put England ahead, but Roy Hodgson had to settle for a 2-2 draw thanks to Michael Arroyo’s long-range strike.

A fiery match spilled over towards the end when Sterling was dismissed for a wild challenge on Antonio Valencia, who was also given a straight red for grabbing Sterling by the throat in response.

Jack Wilshere also struck out at the Manchester United midfielder and was lucky not to be dismissed.

Despite the dismissal of Sterling, there were some positives to take from the match.

Ross Barkley, making his first England start, performed superbly in the No 10 role – most notably in setting up Lambert’s goal.

Rooney also had an influence on the game despite being shunted out wide and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain showed flashes of brilliance – though the latter worryingly went off injured in the second half, with feared ligament damage.

And nine days before England play Italy in their World Cup opener, it is clear that Hodgson still has much work to do as his much-changed XI struggled to cope with Ecuador’s pacey attack.

The experiment of playing James Milner at right-back backfired massively while Smalling and Phil Jones suggested they are not reliable options at centre-back if Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka get injured in Brazil. Ben Foster also had a poor game in goal.

The England boss will be keen for his team to put on a more convincing performance in the same conditions here against Honduras on Saturday.

Hodgson will also be concerned by injuries to Wilshere as well as Oxlade-Chamberlain, with both players forced off in the second half.

At kick-off Rooney, wearing 10, looked out of place on the left.

The Manchester United striker took just 30 seconds to find more familiar ground though.

Rooney darted straight into the centre of the box and got on the end of a Frank Lampard chip but the striker could not test Maximo Banguera.

Despite humidity levels nearing 70 per cent, England played a high tempo in the first few minutes. Barkley saw Lambert find space in the box but Ecuador cleared their lines just in time. Lampard then screwed a good chance wide.

But all the early promise drained away when Ecuador took the lead.

Milner dallied on the ball near his own corner flag and hooked a weak ball clear when he could have put the ball into the stands.

Oxlade-Chamberlain could not control the ball and Walter Ayovi clipped a ball into the centre of the box where Enner Valencia got in between Smalling and Shaw to power home.

Foster then almost gifted Ecuador a second. The goalkeeper, making his first England start in four years, wandered out of his box and had to backpedal quickly to save from Carlos Gruezo.

England had to resort to long-range shorts. Lampard hit the best one, a swirling, dipping effort which Banguera tipped over acrobatically.

Hodgson stood on the touchline looking worried.

England were thrown a lifeline on the half-hour thanks to a clanger from Banguera.

The Ecuador goalkeeper missed Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cross and when Lambert’s backheeled shot cannoned back towards him off a post, he could only divert the ball to the feet of Rooney who tapped in from close range before upper-cutting the air in glee. It was all smiles for the England coach after the break as Lambert found the net. Most of the credit for the goal should go to Barkley though.

The Everton midfielder nutmegged Jorge Guagua and drifted past Frickson Erazo before finding the unmarked Lambert, who drilled a low shot under Banguera.

England’s stretched back line always looked vulnerable to the pace and muscle of Ecuador.

But no goalkeeper would have stopped Arroyo’s equaliser. The Ecuador substitute blasted a 20-yard strike past Foster.

England: Foster, Milner, Smalling, Jones, Shaw, Wilshere, Lampard, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Barkley, Rooney, Lambert. Substitutes: Forster, Welbeck, Henderson, Sterling, Lallana, Stones, Flanagan.

Ecuador: Banguera, Paredes, Guagua, Erazo, W. Ayovi, A. Valencia, Noboa, Montero, E. Valencia, Gruezo, Caicedo. Substitutes: Bone, Ibarra, Mendez, Rojas, Castillo, Arroyo, J. Ayovi, Bagui, Saritama, Martinez, Achilier, Dominguez.

Referee: J Marrufo (USA).