Picture from: buildlineup.com
goalkeeper:
Jack Butland (Stoke City), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley).
Defender:
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jones, Ashley Young (both Manchester United), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier (both Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones, Kyle Walker (both Manchester City).
Midfield:
Dele Alli, Eric Dier (both Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea).
forward:
Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal).
support:
Lewis Cook (Bournemouth), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jack Livermore (West Brom), James Tarkowski (Burnley)
This is eagerly awaited news for all those who love the World Cup. Personally, I’m one of those people who pretends they’re not interested for four years and then ends up watching Japan vs Nigeria at 3am!
So we know the lineup Southgate has chosen, but we don’t know who is likely to be in his starting XI. After the two upcoming friendlies the situation will be clearer but I’m impatient and thought I would at least try to predict his preferred system! I do expect patching in all four games. Okay, okay…I’ll try to be a little more optimistic!
In terms of goalkeepers, we’re most likely to see either Butland or Pickford. Pope is having a better season, but recent friendlies suggest Southgate will try to attack from the back. While Pope is a great shot-stopper, he doesn’t fit that philosophy.
Butland has the best distribution of the bunch in terms of ball-handling ability, but he does prefer to pass the ball. He can play with both feet under pressure, which is an added bonus. He is also a better finisher than Pickford.
Pickford is certainly more composed under pressure, but his kicking is inconsistent and he relies heavily on his left foot. Sometimes he can hit a pass that looks like something from Steven Gerrard’s locker, and then his next kick will kill you Nan and he’s sitting in row Z…in another stadium.
Verdict: Butland
Now, when you have players as clumsy as Maguire, Jones and Cahill, it’s not easy to play from the back! None of England’s centre-back options perform well under pressure, not even Stones (!). Therefore, the easiest way to deal with this situation is to spread the offense out, making it harder for players to press every option and cut off every passing lane; Back 3.
With Joe Gomez out injured, the back three will be left to their own choosing (which shows a worrying lack of quality). There are 3 right backs on the team so that suggests Walker will be the center back in my opinion. He’s done this in recent friendlies, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if this happened.
The man in the middle is almost certainly Stones. Although he is prone to making mistakes when under pressure, he is the best passer of all centre-backs and will be England’s go-to guy every time they attack from deep. But Cruyff can’t turn around in the six-yard box, please!
Finally, the role of left centre-back may belong to Maguire. He looks set to benefit from Gomez’s injury as he is certainly the first choice due to his superiority of… well… everything. Maguire is a slightly better passer than Jones and Cahill, so he should get the nod.
Verdict: Walker, Stones, Maguire
Defender 3 makes another part of the side very visible. That, of course, is the use of full-backs. This makes total sense as all 4 players selected were better when attacking the opposition penalty area.
On the right, there was a direct penalty shootout between Tripper and Arnold. On current form, you have to say Alexander-Arnold is fully worthy of starting, but his age and lack of playing opportunities work against him. However, the friendly gave Arnold the chance to show Southgate why he deserves to start in Russia.
On the left side, Rose and Young will compete for the starting spot. If he’s healthy, Rose is undoubtedly the better option. However, he has struggled in terms of playing time this year, so Young has a fighting chance. You can’t rule out the possibility of a guy who has learned a new position reaching his first World Cup finals at the age of 32.
Conclusion: Trippier, Rose
Midfield is an area where this England team really lacks depth. Henderson is the only natural midfielder on the roster currently playing at club level. So you can guarantee he’ll be in the starting lineup.
Dier starts at defender, Delph currently plays at left-back, Alli and Jesse Lingard operate more up front, while Loftus-Cheek (which is completely random given his average performances and injury-plagued season) is best suited up front. Cook and Lallana can say they were extremely unlucky not to see who was selected.
In the last friendly, Southgate made it clear how he planned to utilize his midfield options. Henderson is likely to be the centerpiece of a midfield three, with two attacking players on either side of him.
Lingard should absolutely retain his place in this system as he has been a revelation for club and country this season. In fact, I’d back him to feature in any good thing England might do this summer.
However, with Chamberlain missing due to injury, Henderson’s other position on the right side has been prepared for Ali’s return, and Ali finally found his form. Alli and Lingard must work together if England are to achieve anything. They also need to defend harder than they do at club level.
I do expect Dier and Henderson to rotate into deeper roles, as Henderson’s plantar fasciitis condition prevents him from playing twice in four days. Having said that, England may not be able to hold on for long! (Sorry, sorry…positive!)
I would also like to commend Southgate for not succumbing to public/media pressure and choosing either Jack Wilshere or Jojo Shelvey. Neither player has the quality or temperament required to play for England. They were reckless in every aspect of the game. Unlike Ali, they don’t make up for it with consistent talent.
Conclusion: Alli, Henderson, Lingard
Anyone paying attention will realize that this team only has 2 spots left. I fully expect Southgate to field two strikers, but not the much talked about duo. Simply put, Kane and Vardy are too selfish to play together. Should be one of them.
In my opinion, Vardy is the better choice because he is calmer. In fact, his goal conversion rate this season is twice that of Kane’s, and you don’t get many chances at this level. However, Kane is the poster boy for the FA and has a solid record of wearing the captain’s armband, so unfortunately Vardy will not start ahead of Kane due to injury.
By the way, Welbeck’s choice is beyond me. The place in the team should belong to someone like Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ademola Lookman, Dominic Solanke or Tammy Abraham. Someone who basically has a role in England’s future, as Welbeck will most likely not play as a fifth-choice forward.
The final starting spot must go to someone who is selfless and creative in the final third. Which brings us to Rashford and Sterling. Looking at their individual seasons, though, it’s not even controversial. GBP is by far the better choice and it’s safe to say GBP will work no matter what system is deployed.
Verdict: Sterling, Kane
That ends my prediction. All in all, I expect 3-5-2 Formation will be the primary tactic deployed. I think the only areas where Southgate hasn’t quite made up his mind yet are the goalkeeping position and the two full-back positions.
As for captaincy, Henderson and Kane are probably the obvious choices and I expect this to be one of them. Walker is an outside bet, though. He is one of the most experienced players and one of the few players on the team to start in any system, hands down.
With a bit of luck, and everyone pulling in the same direction, I think England can go to Russia this summer and shock the world with a draw against Panama! Well… maybe if we make some decisions, we’ll get to the quarter-finals.
Screenplay by Adam Jones
Screenplay by Adam Jones May 20, 2018 21:28:39