What more does Gareth Southgate need to do to prove he should be trusted?
Ahead of the Euros last year, the clamour was for Jack Grealish to replace Raheem Sterling who hadn’t been playing regularly for his club.
What happened? Sterling was our best player on the way to the final. Ahead of Qatar, again, the talk was that Sterling should be dropped. The Chelsea man started the first game and scored.
Likewise Harry Maguire. Fans and pundits were demanding he get the bullet for this tournament. We all know why. But as I said last week, Gareth had to stick by him and thankfully he did. Harry did well in the first game against Iran before he came off and against the USA he was our best player by a mile.
This time last year the clamour was for Jadon Sancho to start matches. Southgate stuck with the players he knew at that time were capable of retaining their consistency for him. We were a penalty kick away from winning it.
So we need to trust the England head coach to know when the time is right to play Phil Foden. Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to see the Manchester City man play as much as you or anyone else.
He’s an exceptional, magnificent player with his ability to create chances out of nothing, his composure in front of goal and his skill at ghosting in behind. I’d have him in my team for this Wales game.
But I think Gareth will still go with Mason Mount for what he feels Mason gives him off the ball as well as on the ball. It is not about whether Foden is our best player or not. It is about what works in the context of the team. We don’t see what Gareth sees. We don’t know what Gareth knows. He works with the players day in, day out.
I know from playing for England and at club level, that the fans are never completely aware of what goes on behind the scenes. Of the way players train or the dynamics that are established.
Trust me when I tell you, he won’t have lost any standing whatsoever with the players over not making any changes against the USA on Friday night.
Not when he has already taken us to a World Cup semi-final and a European Championship Final. The players now know that Southgate knows how to negotiate tournament football. They trust him. They know that he is well aware of what he is doing.
If anything, the criticism will bring them closer together. It will have created a siege mentality at a time when Wales will want to go out on a high. They know that they won’t be able to put their old enemies out of the competition, but they won’t want England to be confirming their qualification to the next round at their expense.
So this will be tougher than people think. Wales won’t have the pace of the Americans to hurt England in behind so I think Gareth will still have four at the back.
And we’ll be primed to cope - whether Wales head coach Rob Page uses the pace of Dan James up front or the strength and aerial ability of Kieffer Moore.
Yes, the country will demand a response after Friday night. But Gareth and his England players are more than ready to provide it. I suspect he is already planning for the knockout stages.
