Kalvin Phillips and Mason Mount can get the best out of each other and so Gareth Southgate should take a gamble on the latter's match fitness for England's round-of-16 tie, according to Ashley Cole.
Mount, along with Chelsea and England teammate Ben Chilwell, was forced to self-isolate after coming into close contact with Billy Gilmour, who tested positive for COVID-19 following the previous 0-0 draw with Scotland.
It meant Southgate was forced to alter his starting XI against the Czech Republic and plumped for the impressive Jack Grealish ahead of Declan Rice and Phillips, with the latter completing the full 90 minutes for the third game in succession.
England's 1-0 win thanks to Raheem Sterling's goal means they will play at Wembley next Tuesday against any one of France, Germany, Portugal or Hungary and because their win confirmed they would play one of the last fixtures of the round, Mount and Chilwell could yet be in contention.
Their respective isolation periods are due to come to an end next Monday and would in theory allow them to play in the next round, albeit having not had a training session with the squad.
But Cole believes Mount and Leeds United midfielder Phillips demonstrated enough in the first two Group D fixtures as a pairing to take a risk when England next play.
"It’s a difficult one. I think Gareth mentioned before the game, will Mason be ready, not training for five days," he said during ITV's coverage of the game.
"I would still play him. He presses, he’s aggressive, he wins the ball back. It’s difficult to drop top players and I think at the moment, he’s proved it for Chelsea, he’s been really important for this England team.
"It gives a license to Kalvin Phillips, to also back him up and get on it. Against a team, Germany, they’re going to have ball possession, you have to win the ball high up."
Fellow studio pundit Roy Keane feels the identity of England's next opponents would ultimately dictate who Southgate opts for in the next round.
"No, not necessarily (he should be ruled out for next game), he’s not let Gareth down before. It depends who they’re playing," he explained.
"If it’s Portugal, they might have a bit more possession, if it’s Germany, they might want to play with wing-backs. The French, it will be counter-attack, but what Gareth has is great options, that’s what you want as a manager but you’ve got to get it right, obviously."
