The men I believe are England’s best
COLLY
WHEN Gareth Southgate names his starting line-up for tomorrow’s Group G opener against Tunisia, I’m pretty certain it will look like this...
Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Gary Cahill, Kieran Trippier, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane.
That’s not too dissimilar to the XI I’d go with if I was in his shoes, barring a couple of exceptions.
So here is the side I would pick to take on Nabil Maaloul’s Eagles of Carthage...
THE first of my two changes from the team I expect Southgate to go with.
Butland has earned his opportunity with eight caps compared to Pickford’s three and Nick Pope’s one. None of them are a great deal better than the others but perhaps the England manager is looking at it and saying, ‘Pickford is going to go on for the next 10 years’.
Pickford is a stunning shot-stopper but I just prefer Butland and see him as a better all-round keeper. I don’t think he has let anybody down, he’s a very solid performer and a more natural fit as England’s No.1.
TWO extra yards of pace makes a difference at any level and certainly against the better teams.
Walker (above) is not an ideal rightsided central defender but his speed will allow Trippier to get the ball just ahead of him and say, ‘Right, go on, Kyle, open your legs’.
Defensively, if Belgium’s Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku are trying a little one-two in the third group game, who would you fancy to make up the ground quicker – Walker, Stones, Harry Maguire or Phil Jones?
It’s a no-brainer and that’s why Southgate plays him there – he has the speed of thought and movement to be able to get back and make the challenges that count. VERY simple: if we only have one natural holding midfielder, Dier or Fabian Delph, then England’s possession-based game demands a defender who can carry the ball out 10 yards and use it well to make the system work. Stones is the best we have got at that.
FOR his experience. At the media day, he genuinely seemed ready for the challenge and has reinvigorated his England career.
In the camp, that will come across. He is a player who really wants to play for England, and Southgate will be thinking, ‘Let’s utilise that’.
LOTS of people are suggesting Trent Alexander-arnold will play and I wouldn’t have anything against that. But I expect Southgate to go with Trippier and I’d give him the nod too because of his incision down the right side, the way he drives into the box and his crossing, which is exceptional, particularly on the move.
I EXPECT Dier to get the nod against Tunisia and Panama because we should have more of the ball, meaning the holding midfielder might not be tested as much going back the other way.
But I’d go for Delph, because when it comes to covering the ground over four or five yards and nicking the ball back, he is superior.
He is someone who can play himself into the team.
Yes, he can be a bit of a liability with bookings and, yes, he played at left-back for Manchester City last season. But he can give us that extra mobility we’ll need later on. I’VE no problems with Ashley Young, from an attacking sense he drifts in, he wins penalties and free-kicks, but to balance out the left and the right you have to have one wing-back staying at home and one bombing forward – so Rose should get the nod.
Like Trippier on the other side, he’s very quick to get the ball out of his feet and very good at crossing.
He has a choice to make – does he want to be England’s most important and most dominant player, or does he want to come away as the naughty kid of English football who hasn’t grown up yet, a Peter Pan?
I want to see him being the player who walks out with a steely look on his face, puffs his chest out and leaves people saying, ‘Boy, that lad can play’.
I’D give Sterling a floating role that allows him to drift left, cut in towards the edge of the 18-yard box and play little one-twos off Harry Kane. He’s a shoo-in and part of England’s holy trinity with Alli and Kane. If those three play well, we have a chance.
IT’S between him and Jamie Vardy, and I would go for Lingard because he has the legs to get back into the orthodox midfield role as well.
He can cover space, he’s mobile, and has that X-factor going forward as well. With Vardy, you’re either having to play 3-5-2 or the Leicester man out of position, off Kane, which is not going to happen.
THE absolute key man for England. He will get confidence in the first games if he can get a couple of goals. He’s not like a Neymar, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo – who at this level can pick the ball up and go past people to score. He needs to have a defined supply line, with plenty of width and players supporting him by putting loads of balls into the box. Just has to keep himself in the game.