It looks like Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon will have to watch on from the bench again this evening as England take on Denmark in their second group game at Euro 2024 - Kick-off is at 5pm.
Despite calls from many pundits to pull Phill Foden in from the left and play him through the middle, The Telegraph have been led to believe that Gareth Southgate is going to stick to his guns and play the same starting eleven who struggled against Serbia on Sunday.
While England grabbed the win after a 13th-minute goal by Jude Bellingham, the remaining 77 minutes were anything but entertaining. Of course, there's a lot to be said for entertainment versus winning, and at the end of the day a win is a win.
In that regard, Gareth Southgate has all the justification he needs to keep things as they are.
However, everyone could see that Foden down the left wasn't working and that Anthony Gordon - or even Eberechi Eze if we must take the bias out of it - would have been a much better option.
Trent Alexander-Arnold playing in the middle of the part looked lost for most of the game but Southgate is insisting on continuing with the experiment to transform him from right-back to centre-midfield.
He even said in an interview that he thought he did well during the game. We're not sure which game he was watching, but okay, Gareth.
Like we said, a win is a win, and if we pick up another one today it's going to be hard to question Southgate's logic and stubbornness, but wouldn't he rather win convincingly than limp over the line?
Why not take a risk every now and then? England's midfield and forward line is exceptional, probably the best in the tournament, but we're stifled by negative tactics and players playing out of position.
Maybe it's all a ruse. A long con by Southgate so that other nations think England haven't got it in them as they struggle unconvincingly get out of the group stages and then the true power of England will be unleashed in the knock-outs!
Nah. Probably not.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
14 | 18 | 35 |
2 |
Chelsea
|
15 | 17 | 31 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
15 | 14 | 29 |
4 |
Manchester City
|
15 | 6 | 27 |
5 |
Nottingham Forest
|
15 | 1 | 25 |
6 |
Aston Villa
|
15 | 0 | 25 |
7 |
Brighton
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
8 |
Bournemouth
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
9 |
Brentford
|
15 | 3 | 23 |
10 |
Fulham
|
15 | 2 | 23 |
11 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
15 | 12 | 20 |
12 |
Newcastle United
|
15 | -2 | 20 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
15 | 1 | 19 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
15 | -8 | 18 |
15 |
Everton
|
14 | -7 | 14 |
16 |
Leicester
|
15 | -9 | 14 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
15 | -6 | 13 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
15 | -13 | 9 |
19 |
Wolves
|
15 | -15 | 9 |
20 |
Southampton
|
15 | -20 | 5 |