Courtesy: Twitter/@England
England has a tricky group in Croatia, Czech Republic and Scotland, but should be able to qualify to the knockout stages. Southgate has raised a few question marks with his squad selection, especially over the stability – with four right-backs being selected, most notably Trent Alexander-Arnold. While England has a gold mine in that position, one should have question marks over the decision and may even slam Southgate for being unable to take tough decisions. Something that may harm England in their road to glory.
However, England is still stacked in the forward position with Mason Mount, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden. Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips will have a huge role to play in shielding the defence while Jordan Henderson and his leadership abilities complete the midfield options.
England squad EURO 2020
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Manchester United), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton),
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City, Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds), Declan Rice (West Ham)
Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Man City)
Weakness:
England lack depth in midfield despite having an abundance of defenders and attacking options. A few players named in the forward’s category like Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka are capable of playing as midfielders but it remains to been seen how Southgate decides to use such an attacking arsenal.
Another weakness could prove to be the 3 at-the-back system that Southgate prefers. This system is known to hinder creativity because of its insistence on keeping two holding midfielders in front of the back 3 to protect the defence.
Injuries to key players like Maguire, Alexander-Arnold and Henderson also cast doubts over England’s Euros campaign.
Key Players:
Harry Kane: England are blessed with tons of world-class youngsters, including the likes of Phil Foden, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mason Mount. However, Harry Kane is arguably their most important player.
Jadon Sancho: The winger may not have enjoyed the best start to the season with Dortmund and has a very unclear future with Premier League teams pursuing his signature, but Jadon Sancho ensured he ended the season on a high with 16 goals and 17 assists to power Dortmund into next season’s Champions League.
Bukayo Saka: Southgate decision to include the Arsenal youngster was frowned upon with many doubting his ability to shine or keep his cool in big games. But Saka has proven doubters wrong by winning two ‘Player of the Match” awards in just 3 appearances for England. The 19-year olds’ versatility in midfield, defence and attack is also a major contributing factor to his selection.