Your England Squad for Euro 2020

[bosnian_red]

Surely Mount & Foden have to start? They’ve comfortably out performed Rashford & Sancho this season.

Henderson
Walker Stones Maguire Shaw
Rice Henderson
Foden Mount Grealish
Kane


​

With the 3 behind Kane interchanging. Sterling, Sancho, Rashford, Calvert-Lewin, possibly Greenwood all on the bench. Unbelievable attacking depth.

It's my opinion of the best lineup, Mount has been excellent but he's not a better left winger than Rashford is, neither is Foden. I don't think Foden has been better than Rashford this season nor is he a better player than Rashford is. He's a young breakthrough player having a very good season in the perfect system for attacking players, but that doesn't make him a better player than Rashford.
Neither are they better players or wingers than Sancho is. It's not going to happen of course, but it's what I think should happen. Mount and Foden are both very good, but no way are they better players than Sancho/Grealish/Rashford.

In all likelihood it'll be Mount at 10, Rashford left and Sterling on the right with Foden as an impact sub. Sancho doesn't get the respect he deserves because he plays outside the prem. Grealish should be starting as the 10 without anyone batting an eye but he plays for Villa and Southgate doesn't like him. Sterling will be in on experience but he's been pretty shit this season and isn't as talented as Rashford/Sancho/Foden anyway.

Saying Foden should start ahead of Rashford or Grealish is 100% recency bias though, and nothing to do with how good they are as overall players or how good their overall seasons have been. It's the same as when people called for Greenwood to be our best player last summer after a good run. They're terrific youngsters, but they aren't borderline world class players yet like what Rashford has been for 2 years, what Grealish has been this season, what Sancho has been for a few years now.

 

[bosnian_red]

There is zero chance Sterling doesn't start. Mount will also 100% start and Grealish will 100% not start.... so basically it'll be between Foden and Rashford for the other starting spot (unless he decides Foden and Mount can play in the middle together with just one behind them... but that would be very not conservative for Southage.

Rashford will almost certainly start if he's fit. He's been an instant starter for England for years now when fit, and for good reason. It'll be Sterling, Rashford and Kane as the front 3, and the others being impact subs.

Grealish not starting is a huge mistake, but you're right in that he likely won't. Guy should be the automatic #10 with pretty much no questions asked, but there you go...

 

[Classical Mechanic]

There is zero chance Sterling doesn't start. Mount will also 100% start and Grealish will 100% not start.... so basically it'll be between Foden and Rashford for the other starting spot (unless he decides Foden and Mount can play in the middle together with just one behind them... but that would be very not conservative for Southage.

I'm starting to wonder about Sterling. He has been a Southgate golden boy but he's definitely falling behind the pecking order of a number of players this season. Southgate also loves Mount and Foden. Doesn't bode well for Grealish whatever the case.

 

[duffer]

Rashford will almost certainly start if he's fit. He's been an instant starter for England for years now when fit, and for good reason. It'll be Sterling, Rashford and Kane as the front 3, and the others being impact subs.

Grealish not starting is a huge mistake, but you're right in that he likely won't. Guy should be the automatic #10 with pretty much no questions asked, but there you go...

Grealish hasnt played a game for months now. Would he a huge gamble to stick him the the starting XI after what would be 4/5 months out by the time the Euros come around.

 

[Minkaro]

26 spaces, isn’t it?

GKs: Pope, Henderson, Pickford

Def: Alexander-Arnold, James, Walker, Maguire, Stones, Coady, Chilwell, Shaw

Mid: Rice, Phillips, Henderson, Bellingham, Mount, Foden, Grealish, Saka, Ward-Prowse

FW: Kane, Calvert-Lewin, Sancho, Sterling, Rashford, Greenwood

Centreback is where I really struggled. There aren’t any real standouts there this season, and I’ll die before I pick Mings, so my logic was Maguire and Stones as the main two, then Coady as reserve, and Walker (who I picked anticipating Southgate’s three man defence) or Rice can fill in.

Striker was tough too. Kane is obvious, but it’s the backup guy. I went for DCL, with the idea that Greenwood would primarily be Sancho’s deputy, due to his effectiveness off the right wing. I could see an argument for Ings or Watkins though.

I’d be interested to see if Mount and Foden could play together. Sterling isn’t in fantastic form (in fact, he’s one I’d only consider pencilled in, so if Lingard continues his form, you could swap them), so getting them both in, without causing a clash, would be nice. I see them as the pick of the attacking midfielders, over Grealish. I also picked Ward-Prowse as my final midfielder because I thought I was lacking in the deeper lying players. You could sacrifice him for Lingard, but I think there’s enough attacking talent there. Saka goes for his versatility, imo.

 

[bosnian_red]

Grealish hasnt played a game for months now. Would he a huge gamble to stick him the the starting XI after what would be 4/5 months out by the time the Euros come around.

That's true. Guess it's based on him getting fit and just looking like normal, in which case he should start but otherwise 50/50 IMO between Foden and Mount, though Mount will be the guy Southgate picks.

 

[JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo]

I'm not English but I have to admit its an incredibly exciting and deep forward line and a slightly weak defence. On current form the best team is as @Schmeichel's Cartwheel puts it

Henderson
Walker Stones Maguire Shaw
Rice Henderson
Foden Mount Grealish
Kane

The width coming from wing backs as Foden and Grealish will always be cutting in. Rice and Henderson supporting the CBs.

The only problem here is you Kane has been dropping so deep. Ideally if you can convince him to play as a traditional number 9 then this line up beats most teams. If they need more width then bringing Sancho,Sterling or Rashford off the bench can immediately change a game.

To be honest the only hindrance this summer is Southgate

 

[SirReginald]

I'm not English but I have to admit its an incredibly exciting and deep forward line and a slightly weak defence. On current form the best team is as @Schmeichel's Cartwheel puts it

Henderson
Walker Stones Maguire Shaw
Rice Henderson
Foden Mount Grealish
Kane

To be honest the only hindrance this summer is Southgate

He was put in as the FA yes man and while he has done well at times, he will never be a top manager.

As for that team, it’s a non-starter. He will play 5 at the back. Pickford will continue to be number 1 as well.

Pickford
James-walker-dier-maguire-Shaw/chilwell
^^
this is pretty much a guarantee.

The hardest selection is CM. While he would love to play Henderson I think he will stick with the same as he did last time, rice and what’s-his-name from Leeds, despite not being international quality.

Front three will be Kane, Mount, Sterling/Rashford.

This is the way, ultra defensive Southgate standard.

 

[JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo]

He was put in as the FA yes man and while he has done well at times, he will never be a top manager.

As for that team, it’s a non-starter. He will play 5 at the back. Pickford will continue to be number 1 as well.

Pickford
James-walker-dier-maguire-Shaw/chilwell
^^
this is pretty much a guarantee.

The hardest selection is CM. While he would love to play Henderson I think he will stick with the same as he did last time, rice and what’s-his-name from Leeds, despite not being international quality.

Front three will be Kane, Mount, Sterling/Rashford.

This is the way, ultra defensive Southgate standard.

Thats probably the case. But iw as going with what I would do ...kinda in line with OP

 

[DixieDean]

On principal I'm against England having a foreign coach, but there is a part of me that would love to see Pep in charge of this squad. You know Southgate wil feck it up.

 

[Wolf1992]

On principal I'm against England having a foreign coach, but there is a part of me that would love to see Pep in charge of this squad. You know Southgate wil feck it up.

You don't need a great manager to do well or win trophies at NT level.
Deschamps and Löw are just OK/decent managers.
The last great manager to win a WC was Marcelo Lippi in 2006.

What you actually need is effective attacking players able to score goals even when team is not delivering their best performance, great defenders to not concede goals easily, and a GK that saves you in hot moments... that's all.

I believe England is lacking GK and defenders.

I don't rate Southgate, but there is no other english manager available that is actually better than him.

 

[KikiDaKats]

My XI
Pickford
Walker Stones Maguire Shaw
Henderson Rice
Sterling Lingard Rashford
Kane

Fantasy XI
Henderson
TAA Stones Maguire Shaw
Rice
Sancho Mount Grealish Foden
Kane

Don’t generally care for England but I like the Southgate approached stuff. International tourneys is centred around experience, concentration, patience, solidity, fitness and tactical know how.Plus a bit of Luck. He has to build on what’s been achieved already not start with an unrecognisable team from previous tournament. Most of the new lads should work their way into the XI, not thrown straight into it after just a year of international football. Contrary to most fans I’d take Dier, Vardy and the Atletico guy.

 

[Sean_RedDevil]

Goalkeepers: Pickford, D.Henderson & Pope
Defenders: Walker, James, Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Stones, Coady, Tomori, Shaw & Chilwell
Midfielders: J.Henderson, Rice, Phillips, Bellingham, Foden, Mount & Lingard
Forwards: Kane, Calvert-Lewin, Rashford, Sterling, Sancho, Grealish & Saka

If Maguire and J.Henderson are out then Mings and Ward-Prowse as replacements.

Starting XI
Pickford - Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw - J.Henderson, Rice; Sterling, Foden, Rashford - Kane

 

[RazorOz]

How do so many people have Sterling in their starting XI? He barely plays for Man City these days, and when he does he's dreadfully out of form.

The idea of recency bias, surely the whole point is to pick players in form, not off name.

 

[Paolo Di Canio]

Goalkeepers: Pickford, D.Henderson & Pope
Defenders: Walker, James, Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Stones, Coady, Tomori, Shaw & Chilwell
Midfielders: J.Henderson, Rice, Phillips, Bellingham, Foden, Mount & Lingard
Forwards: Kane, Calvert-Lewin, Rashford, Sterling, Sancho, Grealish & Saka

If Maguire and J.Henderson are out then Mings and Ward-Prowse as replacements.

Starting XI
Pickford - Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw - J.Henderson, Rice; Sterling, Foden, Rashford - Kane

Id pretty much go with that but drop henderson for mount

 

[Mr Smith]

Can someone explain why so many people are skeptical of Southgate? As a non-English viewer my perspective is that he has restored a lot of dignity to the side, and has achieved key victories over Croatia, Spain, and Belgium over the last few years. I get that people feel he's conservative, but it's hard to work on really expansive modern attacking football at the national level. Are there any other issues people have with Southgate that I'm not aware of?

 

[Dancfc]

Can someone explain why so many people are skeptical of Southgate? As a non-English viewer my perspective is that he has restored a lot of dignity to the side, and has achieved key victories over Croatia, Spain, and Belgium over the last few years. I get that people feel he's conservative, but it's hard to work on really expansive modern attacking football at the national level. Are there any other issues people have with Southgate that I'm not aware of?

I can't speak for anyone else but I just feel he's not the right man to get the level required out of these bunch of players especially as a collective.

He did a great job in 2018 and I'll debate anyone on that but the remit was different, it was before the period of the current crop coming through and the squad was pretty average. It was an underdog situation like that which Southgate thrived.

I wanted change at club level for similar reason and I've been vindicated in that, I feel this England squad are begging for a hipster coach.

So in conclusion it's not because Southgate has been particularly bad I want him replaced it's i don't think he's got the tactical acumen to make full use of this generation of players. I don't want a Belgium/Wilmots situation where our most talented crop (in terms of quantity) for ever and a day are wasted being undercoached.

 

[RazorOz]

Can someone explain why so many people are skeptical of Southgate? As a non-English viewer my perspective is that he has restored a lot of dignity to the side, and has achieved key victories over Croatia, Spain, and Belgium over the last few years. I get that people feel he's conservative, but it's hard to work on really expansive modern attacking football at the national level. Are there any other issues people have with Southgate that I'm not aware of?

General perception is that he will get it wrong. There's a feeling there's a lot of talent in the side, the most for some time, but that it won't be utilised anywhere close to the maximum. It's supported by England's performances tailing off for a while, post-pandemic they have been pretty poor. The experiment with 3 at the back which was a total failure to the point the team barely scored goals, the obsession with 2 defensive midfielders has led to a general vibe of negativity, which is strange because early on in his reign Southgate seemed to play with the handbrakes off, but it's not been like that recently, he seems to have become very negative. This is exacerbated by things like the apparent omission of Trent Alexander-Arnold from the squad, as it just plays into all these theories.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Can someone explain why so many people are skeptical of Southgate? As a non-English viewer my perspective is that he has restored a lot of dignity to the side, and has achieved key victories over Croatia, Spain, and Belgium over the last few years. I get that people feel he's conservative, but it's hard to work on really expansive modern attacking football at the national level. Are there any other issues people have with Southgate that I'm not aware of?

it doesn’t really matter what manager in in charge.

he’s done alright - and that’s all you can reasonably expect. the nations cup is a glorified friendly, and the qualifiers are just too easy - so the national team don’t get tested enough.

Then if everything clicks into place, and we get a bit of luck we could go on and win it - but 8-9 teams are in the same position.

Badiel and Skinner will have to change the hours to “55 years of hurt” this summer.

We have had far worse managers in charge, and the problem with the England job is that it usually spells the end of your career as a top flight manager. The who would actually want the job.

 

[anant]

GK: Henderson, Pope, Pickford
Defenders: TAA, Walker, AWB, Maguire, Stones, Coady, Keane, Shaw, Chillwell
MF: Henderson, Rice, Philips, Mount, Foden, Bellingham, Grealish
Attackers: Kane, DCL, Rashford, Sancho, Greenwood, Saka, Sterling

Although I'm pretty sure he'll take Watkins or someone for Greenwood and it'd be Trippier and Reece James for AWB and TAA

 

[wattsy7]

Pickford
Henderson
Pope

Trent
James
Walker
Maguire
Stones
Tomori
Mings
Shaw
Chilwell
Saka

Rice
Phillips
Henderson
Bellingham
Mount
Foden

Sterling
Sancho
Rashford
Greenwood
Grealish
Kane
Calvert Lewin

Starting XI

Henderson
Walker Stones Maguire Shaw
Foden Rice Mount
Sancho Kane Sterling

Perhaps I’d put Henderson in there instead of Mount or Foden in the tougher fixtures & Rashford can rotate with Sterling or Sancho it doesn’t really make a difference.

 

[WeePat]

Sterling has no business starting for England in current form.

 

[croadyman]

Gut feeling is that it's between Watkins/Mason for that seventh forward spot, Bamford has had a decent season but think if he was in Southgate's thinking for the summer then he would have had a chance by now and same sadly with AWB

 

[Tomuś]

Can't believe Southgate is THAT much of a clown not to call AWB up.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Can't believe Southgate is THAT much of a clown not to call AWB up.

I like AWB - but Trippier, Walker, James and TAA are all ahead of him. We are stacked at RB.

I wouldn’t take him.

 

[TheReligion]

Greenwood should get in I think.

 

[TheLiverBird]

Can someone explain why so many people are skeptical of Southgate? As a non-English viewer my perspective is that he has restored a lot of dignity to the side, and has achieved key victories over Croatia, Spain, and Belgium over the last few years. I get that people feel he's conservative, but it's hard to work on really expansive modern attacking football at the national level. Are there any other issues people have with Southgate that I'm not aware of?

I’m English and a fan of what Southgate has done so far

I 100% get the conservative talk

but he got us too a WC Semi final and throughout that Tournament he dressed the situation up brilliantly with his passion for his Country and the players (with their own passion too of course) fed off that imo, he handled it right in every aspect from the press and getting the nation onboard to man management with his players

I think he’s a different manager in a tournament situation with pressure, in a good way

not perfect but I think at the moment he’s the right man

I hope he proves us all right this summer

 

[Tomuś]

I like AWB - but Trippier, Walker, James and TAA are all ahead of him. We are stacked at RB.

I wouldn’t take him.

What if you face a good side where you need a good, defensive full-back? You must have the best right-back collection ever not to take him.

 

[Tomuś]

I just think Southgate gets way more credit than he deserves for that WC. He stuttered at the first hurdle, and then the second.

 

[WeePat]

Greenwood should get in I think.

Who gets on the plane for you out of all the attacking options? You've already said Greenwood, and Kane is a given. Who are the rest?

 

[croadyman]

Who gets on the plane for you out of all the attacking options? You've already said Greenwood, and Kane is a given. Who are the rest?

Grealish, Rashford, DCL and Sterling

 

[TheReligion]

Who gets on the plane for you out of all the attacking options? You've already said Greenwood, and Kane is a given. Who are the rest?

I don't know really. Tough isn't it. I'm a big fan of Grealish and Ings. Think they should both be included. Sancho has also played well in the run in much like Greenwood.

 

[The Boy]

So my line up and overall squad for England ….. tough one this year I’m going for this

Henderson

Alexander-Arnold Maguire Stones Shaw

Rice

Mount Grealish

Sancho Kane Rashford​

Rest of the squad:

GK Pickford, Pope
DF Walker, Chilwell, Dunk, Coady, Reece James, Saka
MF Philips, Bellingham, Henderson, Ward-Prowse
FW Sterling, Calvert Lewin, Ings

How I think Southgate will actually line up

Pickford

Alexander-Arnold Maguire Stones Shaw

Rice Henderson

Mount

Sterling Kane Rashford

​

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

I’m English and a fan of what Southgate has done so far

I 100% get the conservative talk

but he got us too a WC Semi final and throughout that Tournament he dressed the situation up brilliantly with his passion for his Country and the players (with their own passion too of course) fed off that imo, he handled it right in every aspect from the press and getting the nation onboard to man management with his players

I think he’s a different manager in a tournament situation with pressure, in a good way

not perfect but I think at the moment he’s the right man

I hope he proves us all right this summer

We beat Tunisia, Panama & Sweden. He gets way too much credit for that World Cup run. We lost against the 2 decent teams we played & squeezed past on pens against an average Colombia side who were missing their best player.

Didn’t we only score 2 goals from open play in the entire tournament?

The fact that they brought out a DVD was honestly an embarrassment. We beat 2 shit teams & a below average one.

 

[lysglimt]

We beat Tunisia, Panama & Sweden. He gets way too much credit for that World Cup run. We lost against the 2 decent teams we played & squeezed past on pens against an average Colombia side who were missing their best player.

Didn’t we only score 2 goals from open play in the entire tournament?

The fact that they brought out a DVD was honestly an embarrassment.

The fact that so many thought we did really well shows how low the bar really is. We beat 2 shit teams & one below average one.

It doesn't happen often - but for once I agree with you 100%

 

[united_99]

Yeah England have actually still not beaten a top/traditional big side in WC or EC for two decades. The last one I remember was the win against Argentina in the group stages in the WC 2002!
Has anything happened since? Have I missed any remarkable win since then?

 

[PoTMS]

What if you face a good side where you need a good, defensive full-back? You must have the best right-back collection ever not to take him.

We play James. AWB is not a top class international level footballer, certainly not for England where there are better all round options. He is too limited going forward and I hope we upgrade him at United too once the more pressing areas on the pitch are dealt with.

 

[DixieDean]

Southgate won't start Grealish and that sums up everything wrong with him.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

What if you face a good side where you need a good, defensive full-back? You must have the best right-back collection ever not to take him.

we are not far off!

We have 4, yes 4 better RBs than him for England - all playing for quality sides. The one that has question marks is TAA, but he’s by far the best going forward.

AWB is a terrific tackler, but has a great deal to learn about defending. His awareness of the attacker is not good enough, and he switches off too often.

im very pleased we have him at United, he’s progressing welbut there’s no way he’s one of two of the best English RBs.

 

[Lee565]

I can see southgate going with 3 at the back and if so then ideally in terms of being as progressive as possible then...

____________pope
___walker_maguire_shaw
Taa__bellingham-rice__saka
_____foden_______mount
___________kane