England Reporter’s Notebook: Grealish, Southgate and more | Football news

Jack Grealish has received his first call-up from England for the Three Lions Nations League double-game

Sky Sports News Englishman Rob Dorsett reports from his isolation base in Iceland on all things Grealish, Southgate, Pickford, the defense and … who will be the headline?

Grealish has ‘battle for playing time’

The fact that Gareth Southgate has long resisted the clamor for Jack Grealish to be called up, and the fact that he was only included this time after Marcus Rashford’s retirement due to injury, would suggest that the Aston captain Villa still has a battle on his hands. to get any playing time against Iceland or Denmark. Southgate sees Grealish as a left-side attacker on a front three, and in that department, England are very well covered.

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Sky Sports News reporter Rob Dorsett explains why Grealish has been called up to England’s senior team for the first time

Even in Rashford’s absence, he has to overcome Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling and now Mason Greenwood, who has burst onto the Premier League scene with Manchester United. I think a lot depends on how Grealish performs, on and off the pitch, within the England team for the next few days.

Your character will be assessed as much as your ability – how do you fit into the larger group and how comfortable do you express yourself alongside England’s elite players? Team unity and a collective force of character is vital to Southgate. There’s no place for loners or hipsters – Grealish isn’t the first of those things, but it’s definitely the second. The next question asks how it fits into England’s system.

Few doubt the extraordinary talent of Grealish and his ability to change the game in an instant. But the higher the level you play, the less freedom you have to roam where you want. Not many clubs can give Grealish the free role he has at Villa, where he lines up on the left but has the freedom to roam almost anywhere on the pitch.

Will Southgate ask him to play a more disciplined and regulated role with England in training? And can Grealish do himself justice with those kinds of restrictions? It is something that the England manager will have to think about carefully over the next few days.

Not easy to travel from Southgate after a busy schedule

Southgate and the FA take the Nations League very seriously, and they are definitely not seen as glorified friendlies. When it comes to friendlies, Southgate has always tried to organize matches against some of the best teams in the world; You just need to see the three-friend streak against Germany, the Netherlands and Brazil in the fall of 2017 when England began preparations for the World Cup.

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Dorsett explains the logistical challenges Gareth Southgate faces ahead of the England League of Nations game in Iceland

Southgate wants to see his young team tested against the best, so that they are better prepared for the big games against strong opposition in the later stages of the tournaments. And the Nations League has been very positive for Southgate and England in this regard.

After England’s tremendous performance at the World Cup in Russia, the accusation was made that England hadn’t played any strong teams, and when they did, they lost (witness the defeat to Belgium in the last group match and the England’s final exit from the tournament in the semifinals at the hands of Croatia).

Two years ago, the League of Nations responded emphatically to those criticisms, when England beat Spain in Seville and took revenge against Croatia to reach the semifinals. Those results gave the team confidence and a new belief that they could compete with the best.

A delicate balancing act

We could well see England looking different starting 11 from previous teams. None of the Southgate team members will have played a competitive match for at least 15 days when they face Iceland in Reykjavik on Saturday; many will not have played soccer for a month. Some have played preseason friendlies with their clubs.

But simply put, each player is in a very different physical state. Rashford’s retreats with an ankle injury and Harry Winks for an unspecified reason are a good example. Declan Rice hasn’t played in any of West Ham’s preseason games after taking a hit, but now he’s back in the gym.

How fit are Harry Kane, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham, all of whom have been isolated since they returned from vacation and have not been able to train with their clubs? It’s a logistical nightmare for Southgate, who has been trying to determine the individual status of each of his players before they joined on Monday morning at St George’s Park.

In truth, Southgate and his assistant Steve Holland will only be able to make an accurate assessment of each player’s readiness to play when they see them practice.

Note that the first light training session on the pitch was on Monday afternoon, and the team will fly to Iceland on Friday, after only three full training sessions; there is very little time for Southgate to do these assessments.

A headache as a goalkeeper?

Is Jordan Pickford’s position threatened? You have to say it is. Based on what we’ve seen this season, and particularly since the Premier League returned, Pickford is not England’s fittest goalkeeper.

Jordan Pickford has made the most mistakes leading to goals since August 2018 in the Premier League

Statistics will show Dean Henderson kept 13 clean sheets compared to Pickford’s nine, and the Manchester United goalkeeper made 97 saves while on loan at Sheffield United, compared to Pickford’s 94. Burnley’s Nick Pope has been better than both, with 120 saves and 15 clean sheets.

But Southgate is very loyal to the players who have served him well, and Pickford undoubtedly saves his best performances for when he’s in the England shirt. His experience and level of performance in international soccer means Southgate has a difficult decision.

Selection problem: With Harry Maguire out of the team, who is likely to start at center?

… and more defensive doubts

Defense is a particularly difficult area for Southgate, this time. It was puzzling to many that he didn’t name a single left back in his starting squad of 24, and a real kick in the teeth for Danny Rose, who was not named despite being fit and available.

Add to that, the absence of Maguire for well-publicized reasons, and Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw due to injury, and England have some difficulties here. The absence of left-backs on the team and the call-in of Conor Coady, who plays regularly in three defenses for the Wolves, suggests that Southgate might be considering that system to face Iceland.

Harry Maguire was removed from the Southgate squad after being convicted of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery in Greece, although the conviction has been overturned prior to his appeal.

You could imagine him giving Coady his England debut, starting with Joe Gomez and Tyrone Mings. It’s a formation that served England so well on their way to the World Cup semi-final two years ago, but Southgate has steadily moved towards a more traditional rear since the tournament.

Alternatively, you can place a pry bar on a makeshift left on a flat back four. Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who was called up late on Saturday, has played at both Arsenal winger positions.

Due to the issues discussed above, with so many unknowns surrounding each individual player’s fitness levels and the type of system Southgate could play, this is probably the hardest starting eleven to predict in England, in the entire tenure of Southgate.

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