Standard Sport runs the rule over the England players battling for a place in Gareth Southgate’s 23-man squad for the finals now the qualification campaign is over…
Goalkeepers |
Jordan Pickford will start the finals in goal but the candidates for England’s No2 and No3 spots still appear interchangeable. Nick Pope got the nod last night but although he kept a clean sheet, the 27-year-old did not inspire confidence, looking shaky on a number of occasions without being forced into a high-class save.
Dean Henderson completed the crop this month but Tom Heaton is on the periphery, while Jack Butland will hope his chance has not completely gone despite not being included in a squad since June. All of them are a long way behind Pickford, though, and Southgate will have a major problem if the Everton stopper gets injured.
Defenders |
Harry Maguire is the mainstay of Southgate’s back four but the identity of the three other components is yet to be clarified. Full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ben Chilwell starting both matches this month feels significant. Alexander-Arnold continues to go from strength to strength at Liverpool, while Chilwell is impressing in a Leicester team second in the Premier League. Kieran Trippier is in the mix at right-back but the situation looks ominous for Kyle Walker. The tournament looks like coming too soon for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Chilwell is ahead of Danny Rose and with Luke Shaw a peripheral figure at Manchester United, the left-back spot is his to lose.
Southgate is fond of John Stones - selecting him this month despite starting just three Manchester City matches since September 15 - but Joe Gomez is also in favour, arguably even more so after conducting himself admirably amid the fall-out of his bust-up with Raheem Sterling. If Gomez plays more regularly at Liverpool, he could yet usurp Stones, while Tyrone Mings impressed on his debut against Bulgaria and again against Kosovo. Fikayo Tomori made his debut last night to end the debate over his international future. His emergence at Chelsea is an unexpected bonus for Southgate but, like Wan-Bissaka, next summer may be a step too far. Michael Keane will look to respond after being dropped this month.
Midfielders |
Undoubtedly the toughest area to call at this stage. Southgate’s decisions to deploy both Harry Winks and Declan Rice as a ‘double pivot’ was an intriguing twist on his preferred 4-3-3 shape. Southgate spent much of this year rotating his midfield three in search of the right blend. Ross Barkley featured more than most: England have played 13 matches in a 4-3-3 shape since the World Cup and Barkley started eight of those.
However, Jordan Henderson is a highly-valued member of the leadership group and would expect to play when fit, while it is noticeable how often Southgate singles out Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, particularly in admitting he would have started at the World Cup had a knee injury not ended his season. Winks could barely have done more to further his case in England’s last three matches and is an intriguing option in a slightly more advanced role but competition there is fierce, with Mason Mount acclimatising well to this level, James Maddison pushing to feature and Southgate favouring Fabian Delph as a squad member.
Dele Alli, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jesse Lingard and even Phil Foden are not excluded, although Eric Dier’s chances seem remote. Much will depend on form and fitness over the coming months.
Forwards |
After last night’s match, Southgate was asked a general question about England’s remarkable attacking play, having scored 38 goals this year, one short of their record in a calendar year set in 1908. He said: “I think our forward players… I mean… Raheem, Harry [Kane], Marcus [Rashford] are so exciting to work with. Then, with the younger ones that are supporting that. So, it’s clearly an area of the team that they thrive from each other.”
That answer from the England coach strongly hints that Rashford has moved back ahead of Jadon Sancho after a dip of form in the autumn to now comprise what some have described as the most exciting front three in world football. The 22-year-old has done so after a series of improved displays for Manchester United before scoring against Bulgaria, Montenegro and Kosovo — a spell which has coincided with a slight dip in Sancho’s embryonic career.
Rashford’s superbly taken 83rd-minute goal during last night’s 4-0 victory was in sharp contrast to Callum Hudson-Odoi, who was given a chance to impress on only his second start but the Chelsea teenager struggled to impact the game as he would have liked. Tammy Abraham is likely to make the squad as Kane’s understudy, moving ahead of Callum Wilson, who will need to remain productive at Bournemouth to stay in the picture.
How England should line-up at the Euro 2020 Finals |
James Olley’s XI
England (4-3-3): Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Stones, Chilwell; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Winks, Henderson; Sterling, Kane, Rashford
Dan Kilpatrick’s XI
England (4-3-3): Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Stones, Chilwell; Winks, Henderson, Mount; Sterling, Kane, Sancho
Poll
Which line-up would you prefer to see at next summer’s finals?
