Gareth has the game-changers to freshen up Three Lions. It’s time he started to trust them

AFTER the game in Munich on Tuesday night, Jack Grealish spoke as fluently as he had played for 20 minutes or so.

And during his interview, he felt compelled to defend Gareth Southgate after the England manager came in for a modicum of criticism following the defeat in Hungary last weekend.

Good on him. Firstly, it showed the loyalty and commitment Southgate engenders in his squad and, secondly, this current England manager has an awful lot of credit in the bank.

But had Grealish not inspired an unlikely comeback in the Allianz Arena, Southgate would have been dealing with slightly more than a modicum of criticism.

The team he selected for the task in Germany was a go-to sort of line-up – the type that served him well at World

Cup 2018 and Euro 2020. And while a lot can happen between now and November, it could well be, with one or two exceptions, the team that plays the first game of World Cup 2022.

Whatever side he picks, England should have enough to get through the challenges posed by Wales, USA and Iran.

But does the England team that Southgate seems to favour have the extra dimension that could see them finally go all the way? The answer is probably not.

Elite football coaches – and their myriad analysts – tend to be quick learners and would probably back themselves to deal with Southgate’s preferred line-up, the one with Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice at the fulcrum of the midfield. So maybe it is time for this England team to evolve.

It might sound populist but maybe it is time that Southgate became less risk-averse.

Grealish spoke about ‘freedom’ but for long periods during the matches in Budapest and Munich, England played with little freedom.

Under Southgate’s impressive leadership, this has always been a brilliantly organised team.

But somehow, he has to get his game-changers more involved … and he has plenty of them at his disposal.

And that doesn’t just mean throwing the odd one on towards the end of a match that isn’t going too well.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (above) has taken his game to new levels, his range of passing is frightening, his defending improved.

It is clear Southgate has his reservations but Jurgen Klopp’s incredulity at Alexander-Arnold’s lack of international importance is understandable.

It is also clear – despite the player’s gushing praise for his manager – that Southgate also has reservations about Grealish.

But the Manchester City player’s connection with Harry Kane is a natural one.

You can bet Kane loves playing in harness with Grealish.

Southgate is probably more certain about Phil Foden (above) but he is still not a guaranteed starter yet, arguably, he is one of the best English passers of a ball. He does not play there for City and has only done it once for England – against Andorra – but Foden in a deepish central midfield role would be an interesting experiment.

Of course, there is not a great deal of time left for Southgate to experiment – four matches to be precise.

But if the game against Germany showed us anything, it is that Southgate’s first-choice England team is in danger of becoming a little predictable.

If they are to surprise and delight us again at a major tournament, it is time for it to be freshened up.

And with the likes of Foden, Grealish and Alexander-Arnold at his disposal, Southgate is not short of the personnel to do just that.