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The road to this summer’s European Championship begins now, with three World Cup qualifiers.
It is unusual to start the qualification process for one tournament before completing another. What this international group of matches against San Marino, Albania and Poland does, however, is give Gareth Southgate ample opportunity to rotate and experiment with his 26-man squad.
Both in the back and more advanced, there are more questions than answers right now. With an eye on euros, Sportsmail takes a look at 10 things Southgate should focus on over the next week.
WHO WILL RISE AS JORDAN PICKFORD’S CLOSEST CHALLENGE FOR JERSEY ISSUE 1?
Jordan Pickford’s rib injury and his subsequent absence from this England team represents a great opportunity, particularly for Nick Pope and Dean Henderson.
Burnley goalkeeper Pope has been a regular with the team since 2018, but has only four caps to his name, and Everton goalkeeper Pickford is the favorite in all competitive matches.
As for Henderson, it seemed like for much of this season he had wasted his chance, confined to the Manchester United bench behind David De Gea.
But De Gea’s unavailability over the past month has given Henderson his chance and, so far, he has capitalized on it with a string of solid performances.
West Brom’s Sam Johnstone has also been called up, but all eyes will be on Pope and Henderson for the next week as they want to claim the number one jersey at this summer’s Euro Cup.
AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIMENT IN THE CENTER OF THE BACK …
Southgate named five back-and-forth center-backs in his squad for this international window, with Kyle Walker as the right-side option in a back-three.
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire is one of Southgate’s favorites, despite some spotty displays, including a red card in the first half in October against Denmark, so he can be expected to be the first choice.
However, second place in the center-back pairing, assuming a back four is Southgate’s flavor of the month, is up for grabs.
The favorite is John Stones, who is rejuvenated and has been exceptional for Manchester City this season. He also teamed up with Maguire in the race to the 2018 World Cup semifinals.
However, Conor Coady impressed his country during the back-end last year, as did Tyrone Mings on occasion as well. Eric Dier, who has returned to defense on a permanent basis for the club and the country, is another tried and tested option, and the most experienced international option with 45 caps.
STRAIGHT SHOT ON THE LEFT BACK
Much like the Stones’ drastic improvement this season, Luke Shaw’s string of consistent performances for Man United sees him return to the international fold for the first time since 2018.
Ben Chilwell has been England’s left-back since the World Cup, but has been in and out of the starting eleven at Chelsea since Thomas Tuchel took office.
As it stands, these two are the obvious choices for euros this summer. They can stamp your credentials for a starting position right away.
SHOW YOU DESERVE YOUR PLACE MORE THAN TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
The biggest omission from Southgate’s team was Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold. No, he is not injured: the England manager confirmed that the 22-year-old had been eliminated.
Instead, Southgate chose to pick Reece James from Chelsea, Kieran Trippier from Atlético de Madrid and Walker from Man City.
Over the course of three games, everyone is expected to have a chance. Trippier is undoubtedly in favor of Southgate, despite his 10-week suspension for violating FA gaming regulations.
But don’t discount James, who impressed in October and November, or Walker, who also starred in Russia three years ago.
If all three impress, Alexander-Arnold will have a hard time reclaiming his spot for this summer.
NO MORE BAD DISCIPLINE!
No, this is not a quick change to trouble with the England rugby team.
Last year England had three red cards in the space of five games.
Walker was sent off in Iceland, Maguire left early against Denmark and James received his second yellow card after showing disagreement with the referee following a home loss to the Danes.
In soccer tournaments, lack of discipline and yellow cards, which result in suspensions, can kill a team’s momentum. In these heats, which England is expected to win, they would do well not to shoot themselves in the foot again.
CAN RICE CLAIM AS VOCAL IN MIDFIELD AS JORDAN HENDERSON?
Declan Rice’s rise, as he continues to thrive on an outstanding West Ham team, shows no signs of abating.
He is now an almost certain starter for England. Very good too, in a position on the field where Southgate lacks depth found elsewhere.
But Rice will be without Jordan Henderson in this round of games, as the Liverpool captain misses with a groin injury that causes him to touch and start during the summer as well.
Probably to play alongside the less experienced Kalvin Phillips, Jude Bellingham or James Ward-Prowse, Rice must prove that he can deliver the noise in the middle of the park. All the evidence so far suggests that it certainly can.
AT 17, IS THERE REALLY A SUMMER SPOT AVAILABLE FOR JUDE BELLINGHAM?
If Rice’s rise has been impressive, Jude Bellingham’s has been meteoric.
While the likes of Curtis Jones were selected for the under-21s this month, Southgate was clear that he wanted the 17-year-old Bellingham to play for the greats.
Since signing for Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham last summer, Bellingham has come by leaps and bounds and is the German club’s youngest goalscorer in competitive football.
With clearance to travel to England for these heats, Bellingham will surely have a chance. And even if it’s San Marino, a virtuous display would set the pulse racing on the next young star to break onto the international scene.
NAIL THE STARS ATTACKS THAT WILL SUPPORT HARRY KANE …
One area where Southgate definitely has options is in attacking positions.
Captain Harry Kane is the only guaranteed starter. On this team, Mason Mount, Jesse Lingard, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford compete for three, if not two, positions.
Not to mention the absence of Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho and James Maddison also due to injury.
Again, these qualifiers provide a perfect platform for Southgate to test its abundance of quality in the final third.
OLLIE WATKINS OR DOMINIC CALVERT-LEWIN AS KANE’S MAIN BACKUP?
Ollie Watkins won his first international call-up, following 12 goals in all competitions this season for Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has yet to reach the heights of the start of the season in 2021, although he already has two goals for England to his name in five appearances.
The games against San Marino and Albania in particular give these two the ideal opportunity to add, or start, in Watkins’s case, to their goal tally.
EXPERIMENT FOR TWO GAMES … BEFORE TRICKY POLAND CLASH
Southgate knows this is his last chance to work with his players before the end of the season and the Euro.
Particularly against inferior opposition, therefore, the England manager must take the time to experiment, both with the staff and with the formations.
However, he should not lose sight of the competitive nature of the matches, especially a difficult Wembley encounter against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland next week.
The road to Qatar starts now, even if euros are at the forefront of your mind.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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