The rescheduled Euro 2020 finals are still more than nine months away but preparations for the tournament are certainly in motion.
But before they have that to think about, the Three Lions take on Iceland and Denmark in the UEFA Nations League next month, with manager Gareth Southgate set to announce his squad for the matches later today.
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Being England manager means you have to make a number of tough decisions all the time but Southgate really has a number of issues to address ahead of these upcoming matches.
Who starts in goal? England’s first choice for the last couple of years, Jordan Pickford, is really struggling for form at Everton, while Burnley star Nick Pope and Manchester United man Dean Henderson – who spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Sheffield United – are very much in form.
Harry Maguire’s arrest on holiday leaves Southgate in a tricky situation regarding centre-backs, while Raheem Sterling has returned a negative COVID-19 test after attending a party hosted by sprinter Usain Bolt, who tested positive.
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Meanwhile, the manager still doesn’t seem settled on who his midfield three will be for next summer’s finals.
But talkSPORT host Jamie O’Hara is in do doubt who he’d have in his England midfield – Declan Rice, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden.
O’Hara’s selections may raise eyebrows given Grealish and Foden have yet to make an appearance for England at senior level, while there’s no room for the likes of Liverpool captain and Footballer of the Year Jordan Henderson, Harry Winks or James Maddison.
But as a manager himself, albeit at a lower level, O’Hara had no issue explaining his reasons behind picking his trio.
He said: “With Foden, Grealish and Rice that is potentially the future.
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“I’m not saying Henderson isn’t going to be in that team come next year at the Euros, or if they get to the latter stages of the Nations League, but if you’re looking at building like Gareth Southgate likes to do, I think you’ve got to give that three a chance.
“The big one is the Euros and I think England go into that as one of the favourites so we need to make sure that all the players are fit, as it’ll be a long and hard season, and we need to blood in some of the youngsters and see if they can handle it at the top level.”
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