After last night’s snooze-fest between Slovenia and England, we picked out three things that Gareth Southgate and England must address before the last 16 stage.
1. Gallagher is not a starter
Embed from Getty ImagesThe fact that Southgate chose to start Connor Gallagher shows how boring and conservative he is as a manager.
Given that the move only lasted 45 minutes, it shows how wasteful it was.
If England were winning a quarter-final against Germany or France, you can understand that move, as the team would require some extra physical presence in Midfield.
Gallagher likes to break up the opposition’s play patterns with his high pressing, which gives the opponents less time on the ball.
But Slovenia’s game plan was to sit in and get the draw to put them through to the next stage, and they executed to a tee.
This would have been the perfect game to look at Cole Parmer, Anthony Gordon, and Kobbie Mainoo and get 90 minutes under their belt.
2. Palmer, Mainoo, Gordon Impress
Embed from Getty ImagesEngland’s poor first half ignited Southgate to make changes and replace Gallagher, who wasn’t effective in midfield, with Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo.
He replaced Bukayo Saka with Cole Palmer,, who looked bright on the right wing, followed by Phil Foden for Anthony Gordon, who looked sharp on the right.
Indeed, at least one of the three subs needs to start in the next game, maybe Mainoo or PalmerI for Gallagher.
Gordon may be an excellent option to bring off the bench, particularly if the opposition’s defenders are tiring and you need someone to make runs in behind.
However, Mainoo and Palmer bring more agility and trickery in those tight areas of the pitch to open up the game.
Indeed, does one of them have to start in the last 16 games on Sunday?
3. Three Unconvincing performances
Embed from Getty ImagesEngland may have topped the group, but let’s be honest, their three games have been pretty average performances.
It looks as if Southgate is still searching for his best XI from a very talented squad of 26, and this is really affecting the balance of the side.
Some places are nailed on, i.e., Rice and Bellingham are in the midfield, but who takes the third spot?
Left-back is another issue that needs resolving, mainly if Luke Shaw will not play a minute in the remainder of the tournament.
Kieran Trippier does not look as comfortable on the left as on the right.
Southgate also tried Kyle Walker at Left Back, which he did reasonably well, but again, it’s not his natural position.
Some people may think this would be illogical based on form, but it may not have been a bad idea if Southgate had selected Dan Burn, Ben Chilwell or Rico Henry and let Shaw rest at home.
Embed from Getty ImagesJoe Gomez can play there but is more comfortable playing as a centre-back.
So these are the main issues against Slovenia that Southgate must resolve as quickly as possible to get England into this tournament.