If Harry is not playing for United, he’s a risk too far for World Cup
Says Chris Sutton as our experts debate Maguire muddle, Jude’s brilliance and the wing-back dilemma
SURELY THAT’S IT FOR MAGUIRE?
CHRIS SUTTON: It’s not. But Gareth Southgate cannot start Harry Maguire if he isn’t starting for Manchester United. If he only comes on as an 89th-minute substitute against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League, how on earth can he be expected to start for England in a World Cup with what’s at stake? How’s he going to get back to form if he isn’t playing games? It’s a huge gamble that I don’t think we can take.
Southgate can’t get away from the fact that Maguire has been out of form for a long time now — he backed him after the Germany match and I do think some of the criticism of Maguire is way over the top, but it was a pretty catastrophic error for the first goal. IAN LADYMAN: I agree that it should be hard to see Maguire playing against Iran. But I actually think he will. Southgate is convinced that he is his best central defender. Certainly if he plays four at the back — rather than five — in the opening game, Southgate will want his central pair to be Maguire and John Stones simply because he firmly believes that they are his best duo.
Southgate is not stupid and is aware that another two months of inactivity for Maguire at club level will have a huge impact on his match fitness and mental sharpness. Frankly, the best thing that could happen for Southgate is United suffering a defensive injury and Maguire stepping back in and finding his form. This is a situation that is not ideal, for sure. SAMI MOKBEL: It’s not ideal but events of the last few days tell us that it is far from over for Maguire. Southgate backed him last Thursday, indicating he will start at the World Cup. The England manager then started him in both Nations League matches. Southgate clearly believes he needs Maguire if England are to win their first senior men’s trophy since 1966.
So regardless of what you think about it, you’d better get used to Maguire being selected — though Southgate did give himself some wriggle room on Monday, saying: ‘In these moments we’ve got to back our best and most experienced players, unless we’re in a situation where it’s almost untenable and impossible to pick them.’ DOMINIC KING: So much can happen before mid-November, so it would be stupid to say definitively now that Maguire won’t face Iran. I’d say the odds are against him but he was England’s best defender in the last two tournaments, a point not lost on Southgate.
As the others say, the England boss thinks the world of Maguire and it was significant to hear the way he spoke about him on Monday night. Yes, he had made mistakes but no good will come from metaphorically putting him in the stocks. People around him need to rebuild his confidence. If he doesn’t play, Conor Coady must.
SHOULD BELLINGHAM START EVEN IF PHILLIPS IS FIT?
SM: Nailed on. And he should be for at least the next decade. What a player. He has everything in his locker to become not just one of the best, but the best England central midfielder in history.
Passing, discipline, power, bravery, composure and pace — the kid has it all. The biggest fear is, if Kalvin Phillips recovers in time for the World Cup, that Southgate reverts to type. But that would be a travesty. Let this boy play. Build the team around his outstanding talent. Unleash him on the biggest stage of all and he won’t let the country down. IL: I agree, Sami. Of all the players who have been on parade over the last two games, Jude Bellingham has shone. He does not seem to have been affected by the crisis of confidence that has struck so many of his older and more experienced England team-mates.
Bellingham, only 19, has been brave enough against Italy and Germany to seek the ball and use it well. It is said that the young don’t know what fear is and this seems to apply to the midfielder. Barring injuries or another unexpected turn of events, it is hard to see anybody but Bellingham standing next to Declan Rice when England’s World Cup campaign gets under way. CS: Hard to see? It’s not even a debate! 100 per cent he plays. He’s brave, he takes the ball and where many players hide, he doesn’t.
For the first goal against Germany, he could have taken the easy option of going sideways or backward but he drove through the middle of the pitch with three German players around him before spinning the ball out to Reece James, who combined with Bukayo Saka to set up Luke Shaw. If Bellingham doesn’t show that bravery on the ball, England don’t get back in the game. He is ahead of anyone else in the middle of the park. DK: Bellingham has been building towards this moment since he wore the No 8 shirt in a friendly against Romania in June last year. It’s implausible to see how someone who is flourishing in the Champions League won’t be given this platform.
What intrigues is the idea that Phillips is still somehow a certain starter. In all honesty, he might be fortunate to even get on the flight to Doha. He’s played 14 minutes for Manchester City so far and has injury concerns. Can Southgate afford to take such a gamble? The answer to that is ‘no’. It will be Bellingham and Rice, with Jordan Henderson waiting to step in.
WHO TO PICK AS THE WING-BACKS?
DK: Shaw is as close to a certainty to start as can be. He hasn’t always been comfortable in the international set-up but, since Euro 2020, he has found his feet and, once again, he did very well against Germany. He scored one and Raheem Sterling should have given him an assist. Trent Alexander-Arnold should be on the right, but at this stage I’m not even sure he will be on the plane.
In that respect, I would go with Kieran Trippier, whom Southgate correctly says is in better form at present than the Liverpool man. James should be the natural answer but he gives the impression of playing within himself for England. CS: Interesting, but I think it’s going to be James on the right. There was a lot of anger at Alexander-Arnold not being in the squad again but while he has his obvious strengths, James is a better all-rounder in that wingback position. On the left, Shaw gave a great audition against Germany, but he has the same problem as Maguire — he needs games at United.
The whole situation of who starts for United will come into focus as it’s going to shape a lot of England’s back line, but as it stands it looks like James and Shaw on the flanks for Qatar. IL: Mine would be James and Ben Chilwell but clearly I am only going to be half-right on this. James is the best full back in England at the moment and has done nothing to change my mind or indeed Southgate’s over the last week. Chilwell, though, is out of favour and is now in danger of being cut from the squad altogether. There will be a 26-man group in Qatar to try to mitigate against Covid issues so Chilwell could make it. He won’t play, though.
As for the Alexander-Arnold debate, it is overblown. Defenders need to defend against the best teams and this is where the Liverpool player falls down. He has too many mistakes in him. Southgate cannot say this for fear of the headlines that would follow. But he knows it, nonetheless. SM: I’m with Chris — it will be James and Shaw. James, as an allround footballer, is one of the brightest talents in the English game. He will play regularly at Chelsea and it is clear he’s ahead of Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order.
Shaw was a vital part of England’s run to the Euro 2020 final last summer — that experience will stand him in good stead for Qatar. The problem is it appears unlikely he will play regularly at United. But — like Maguire — Shaw has enough credit in the bank. An additional thought: the Bukayo Saka at left wing-back experiment against Italy didn’t work and shouldn’t be repeated.
SAKA AND MOUNT... IS IT TOO LITTLE TOO LATE TO DISLODGE STERLING AND FODEN?
CS: Well, it’s a great position for England to be in with four players — not to mention Jack Grealish, who was suspended against Germany — fighting for those
spots but I think the starting setup was right. Mason Mount used to be Southgate’s go-to man and took his goal brilliantly but Sterling’s pace caused the Germans a threat from the off. Saka’s a different player from Phil Foden, a big threat but more of a dribbler while Foden is a better link man.
And a word for those subs — we must praise Southgate when he gets things right because he gets two-footed whenever he gets anything wrong. Good for Gareth, I’m pleased that his players showed such fight for him. IL: Yeah, Sterling will be in Southgate’s team. He always is. He is part of a spine of PickfordMaguire-Rice-Sterling-Kane that in the manager’s head is pretty much immovable. Cast your mind back to the start of last summer’s Euros and the debate about Sterling’s inclusion because he hadn’t been playing brilliantly for Manchester City. He ended up being one of England’s key players and Southgate will offer him that opportunity again.
As for the others, that situation is more fluid. Foden’s England form has not been as good as it can be recently and Southgate is a huge fan of Mount and indeed Saka. The way they helped change the game against Germany will not have harmed them and this is one area where club form could be important over the next few weeks. SM: Potentially it’s too late. Sterling starts, because his place is set in stone. And given he started in both of England’s recent games, it appears that Foden will start in the opener against Iran.
But the impact Saka and Mount had coming on as subs against Germany should, at the very least, give Southgate something to think about. Mount’s ability to go beyond the defenders was something England benefited from, and Saka’s pace and skill provides Southgate with a strong option. Spare a thought for Grealish, who was first sub in Italy on Friday night but may have now been overtaken. DK: Why is it too late for Mount? Are we forgetting how Southgate views the Chelsea midfielder and how often he has turned to him in recent years? Mount showed a glimpse of his very best form when thrashing in England’s equaliser against Germany, he’s absolutely in contention.
Sterling seems like a definite starter but if his place is going to come under threat, might it not be from Marcus Rashford? The United forward is in Southgate’s thoughts and, if he stays injuryfree, he is likely to be in the squad.
TIME TO PANIC OR TIME
TO BOOK A PUB TABLE FOR DECEMBER 18?
IL: England were never likely to reach the World Cup final. The confidence last summer’s efforts in the Euros inspired was welcome and rare and it was nice to feel the buzz for a while. But this winter was always going to present a completely different kind of challenge and England’s recent poor form has only helped to bring a dose of realism to this debate.
It will be a strange tournament, one where club form and injury issues have a greater impact than usual. So strange things could happen. Nevertheless, feel free to book that pub table for December 18 but it’s unlikely you will be watching England. The last eight would be a decent effort for this group of players. CS: As Harry Kane said after the game: let’s not get carried away. You can’t get too high when things are going well but we shouldn’t be so low after things take a turn for the worse. With the job Southgate has done over the last six years, England always stood a chance going into Qatar. They’re not the best team in the world but they are capable of hurting anyone if everyone’s firing.
The problem Southgate has is that so many players have been out of form for their clubs, and that was certainly reflected in their performances for England. The Germany game was a big night for Gareth, to get that bit of momentum heading into the World Cup. DK: It’s not time to panic but a level of respect to other nations and an appreciation of the threat they pose wouldn’t go amiss. Why is everyone thinking about the latter stages without even mentioning the threat on the horizon in the last 16, namely the Netherlands or Senegal?
Provided England escape their group, they will do very well to beat either of those nations. SM: Sterling used the phrase ‘no need to panic’ about five times on Sunday. So that’s good enough for me. The lead-up to the World Cup has very little bearing on what happens in the tournament. If England beat Iran 5-0 in their opening group match then this six-game winless run will become an irrelevance.
Football’s all about moments — and if England grasp those moments then they have an excellent chance of success in Qatar regardless of their current form. As for the pub table? One step at a time.