Is it possible to have too much talent heading into a major tournament?
England boss Gareth Southgate will certainly welcome the depth of quality available to him ahead of next summer’s delayed European Championship – but it leaves him with numerous difficult decisions.
AFP or licensors
If this international break has taught us anything, it’s that the Three Lions will almost certainly line up in a 3-4-3 formation – and that won’t be to the liking of everybody.
Pundits and callers alike have taken to our airwaves urging Southgate to change the system in order to accommodate an extra attacking player, with so many of them at his disposal.
During the 4-0 thrashing of Iceland, Mason Mount dropped into the midfield two in order to create room for Phil Foden and Jack Grealish in attack, which felt like a small compromise at least.
Getty Images - Getty
Foden and Grealish have forced their way into the conversation for next summer’s Euro 2020, starring in the absence of Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford.
Grealish was arguably man-of-the-match in all three games, against Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Iceland, while Foden got his first two senior England goals on Wednesday night during a fine display.
Mount and Declan Rice both chipped in with goals from midfield against Iceland, while fellow youngster Bukayo Saka was impressive at wing-back, but the dead rubber was hardly an accurate reflection of what England will face at the Euros.
Assuming Southgate has a fully fit squad at his disposal, is this the team he would pick if the tournament took place right now?
It’s almost impossible to imagine England not playing 3-4-3 these days, so like it or not, that has to be the formation.
Between us, we would probably rather go with one right-back, push Grealish into a No.10 role and play Mount in midfield alongside Henderson.
But in the interest of compromise, we believe Grealish could fit into a deeper role, like he sometimes does for Villa, pulling the strings while Henderson does the legwork.
After all, someone has the feed that electric front three.
Getty Images - Getty
Foden and Jadon Sancho would definitely come off the bench at some point, but it’s difficult to look past that front line, given their continued form in the Premier League this season.
In defence, Southgate’s decisions appear slightly easier, although the England manager does seem to prefer Kieran Trippier to Trent Alexander-Arnold, even when the Liverpool man is available.
You could throw Reece James into that mix as well, there are just so many talented English right-backs.
Trent gets the nod for us, while Jordan Pickford starts in goal because, well, Southgate’s never going to drop him, is he?
from Football - news, transfers, fixtures, scores, pictures https://ift.tt/3fgryh2
via IFTTT
No Comment