England are three games away from winning their first ever European Championship — but it doesn’t feel like it.
If a laboured group stage felt stodgy enough, the last-16 tie against Slovakia was, at times, painful to watch. Gareth Southgate’s men eventually squeaked through but it took a very late, and very fine, goal from Jude Bellingham to even take them to extra time.
Southgate himself admits there are lots of issues England still need to work on and he has some time to do so — but what are the solutions?
We assembled our panel of England experts to offer some answers to the big questions hanging over the squad in Germany.
Who replaces Marc Guehi? Is there a case for going to a three-at-the-back?
Oliver Kay: There is — and I’m not totally against matching up against Switzerland’s system. I quite like the idea of Kyle Walker dropping into a back three with John Stones and … Lewis Dunk? Joe Gomez? Ezri Konsa? We’ll come to that.
But seeking strength in numbers at the back would risk further weakening the midfield and forward line. That’s not something I would want to do. So I would keep changes to a minimum.
In terms of Guehi’s replacement in central defence, there are pros and cons with each of Dunk, Gomez and Konsa. I’ll go for Gomez.
By the way, not a fashionable thing to say but I do wish Southgate had made as many allowances for Harry Maguire’s fitness as he did for Luke Shaw’s. Maguire’s absence hasn’t been felt so far — thanks to Guehi, who has done well — but it could be on Saturday.
Joe Gomez has not had a minute of action at the Euros – yet (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Jack Pitt-Brooke: This feels like a straight choice between Konsa, who did well at left-back in extra time on Sunday night, and Dunk. Konsa’s experience in Gelsenkirchen might count in his favour, as might the fact that he enjoyed a good club season with Aston Villa. Dunk had a difficult time for England in the March internationals, although it might be harsh to judge him too much on those.
Southgate has been very honest about England’s struggles to build up from the back this tournament and Dunk is arguably better at this than Konsa, which might just swing it his way.
You might argue for a switch to a back three, hoping to freshen up how England play, with Saka as a wing-back on the left. If that is the case, then the case gets stronger for Konsa, because of his superior speed covering the space outside him and behind Saka. Whereas if you stick with the back four — as Southgate surely will — it would be simpler to slot Dunk in alongside John Stones.
GO DEEPER
The rise of Marc Guehi – England’s quiet man now making noise at the Euros
Mark Carey: It looks unlikely that Southgate will make wholesale changes to personnel or formation. It is more realistic to expect minor tweaks. The fact Konsa was the one who came on during extra time against Slovakia — albeit at left wing-back — suggests that he is the defender at the forefront of Southgate’s thoughts.
Konsa clocked up the most club minutes of any player in the England squad last season, which you could look at in one of two ways. The first is that fatigue might be a reason to treat his international minutes cautiously. On the other hand, Konsa has shown a level of consistency for his club that he would be desperate to carry onto the international stage.
Konsa could help England squeeze the pitch, having grown accustomed to playing a high defensive line at Aston Villa under Unai Emery. His recovery pace will be a welcome strength, although it is worth noting that Konsa spent nearly all of his time playing as a right centre-back or right-back for his club last season — meaning a role at left centre-back would be less familiar to him.
A back three would mean moving too many parts to get things to work coherently in a short space of time — not that England have shown much coherence to this point. A straight swap between Guehi and Konsa looks most likely.
Should Kieran Trippier stay in the team, assuming he is fit?
Kay: Yes. It’s not ideal having a right-footer at left-back, but it’s hardly unprecedented. And he’s been fine. In fact, I would say he’s been one of England’s few solid, dependable players so far at this tournament. More solid and dependable, I suspect, than Shaw or anyone else would be if rushed straight back into the starting line-up after four and a half months out.
For all the complaints about Trippier as a makeshift left-back, I feel he has looked steadier — defensively and going forward — than Kyle Walker on the opposite flank. Walker’s performances worry me. I would consider bringing in Trent Alexander-Arnold or switching Trippier to right-back with Gomez or Konsa on the left — or at least consider those options from the bench if Walker looks vulnerable again on Saturday.
Pitt-Brooke: It is impossible to dispute Trippier’s application in this tournament. He could not have worked any harder for the team. But there are only so many times that England can play a diagonal ball from right to left, hoping to spring an attack, and for it to fall to a 33-year-old right back playing on his wrong side. The fact that Trippier is the left-back effectively means England have no real outlet. Something has to change.
Kieran Trippier is playing out of position on the left (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Ideally, Southgate would build a time machine, go back to May and take Ben Chilwell or Tyrick Mitchell but, failing that, he ought to try something different. If Shaw is not ready to play — and Southgate did not sound optimistic on Sunday night — then how about going back to Saka, whether in a four or as a wing-back? Southgate tried it for a while against Slovakia so he is clearly not completely against the idea. Maybe it will be the spark that England need.
Carey: There were times against Slovakia when Trippier was the most advanced player on the pitch, offering runs in behind from deep that neither of England’s wingers were making for long periods. Looking at the pass network below, you can see how further advanced he was compared with Walker on the opposite side of defence.
This might be something you want from a marauding full-back, but Trippier’s obvious limitations playing as a right-footed left-back simply cut off so many passing angles — and is a source of frustration that hampers England’s approach further up the attacking-sequence chain.
We know about the dearth of left-footed options in the squad but Saka at left-back could be a good option for two reasons. The first is Saka’s attacking quality would pin Switzerland back and make them think twice about squeezing up the pitch. The second is Switzerland prefer to channel their attacks down their left anyway, so Saka would have less to deal with from a defensive perspective.
How do they get more pace around Harry Kane?
Kay: I’m not as fixated on this issue as others seem to be. I certainly don’t think it has been the overriding issue for England in a tournament where they often dominated possession against opponents who have sat deep for the most part and left very little space behind. Speed of thought and possession has been more of a shortcoming than fast line-breaking runs.
It could be more of an issue against Switzerland, but I would prefer to start with the same two players wide of Kane: Saka on the right and Phil Foden on the left. They are both capable of getting “around” and ahead of Kane, as is Bellingham. They just need to play closer to him at times.
A rare moment against Slovakia when Harry Kane and Phil Foden were in close proximity (Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
Pitt-Brooke: As well as the lack of a fit left-back, the biggest issue with this squad is the lack of pace beyond Kane. So much of England’s good play under Southgate over the years has seen Raheem Sterling or Marcus Rashford attacking space, allowing Kane to play as more of a No 10. England brought neither Rashford nor Sterling to Germany with them, and we have not seen much of Jarrod Bowen or Anthony Gordon so far. At times Foden has bravely tried to make those runs but that is simply not his natural game.
The obvious answer would be to start Gordon but that creates the issue of what you do with Foden. It would be a brave move to drop him, but an even braver move to switch him into the 10 and drop Bellingham. Maybe the answer is to switch him out to the right because Saka is moving to left-back. It’s not very Gazball but it might just work.
Carey: The obvious answer is to bring Gordon in on the left wing, but the difficulty is that he has played all of….two minutes across the four games so far.
That does not scream of a player who is central to his manager’s plans, but this could be the perfect game for Gordon. With Switzerland looking strong in possession against Italy, England will need a counter-attacking threat to offer the perfect antidote.
If Gordon was able to stretch the opposition back line with pace in behind, that would make space elsewhere for Bellingham and Foden to attack. In this case, putting Saka at left-back would mean shifting Foden to the right flank in a role similar to his campaign with Manchester City.
A lot of the positives that Gordon can provide might actually be without the ball, but it could be key in unlocking the attacking threat that England have been lacking up to this point.
Kay: Yes. Without being brilliant, he was England’s brightest player for an hour against Slovakia. I do worry that England’s midfield is going to be easy to play through, just as Manchester United’s was last season, but at this point it feels like they’re not going to find the balance they’re looking for, so it’s a case of finding the least imperfect option.
I just find it strange that Southgate has ended up with three such different options in that position: Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is a brilliant long-range passer (which didn’t seem to work in a team with relatively little pace in the forward line); Conor Gallagher, whose stand-out qualities are more athletic and mental than technical; and Mainoo, who is so impressive in possession in tight spaces but seems more vulnerable when the game is stretched. Then there’s a fourth option, a more balanced player in Adam Wharton, who hasn’t got off the bench. But yes, Mainoo keeps his place.
Kobbie Mainoo deserves to keep his place (Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)
Pitt-Brooke: Mainoo against Slovakia was almost exactly what you would expect. With the ball he was sharp, linking up with team-mates with far more style than either of his predecessors in that position managed. No one could describe Sunday as a flowing England performance in possession but the problems started deeper than Mainoo, the issue was getting past the first Slovakian press.
On the other hand, Mainoo does not offer much without the ball and it was not difficult for Slovakia to break straight through the space where he was meant to be. Slovakia exploited that and Switzerland would be even sharper at taking advantage of any defensive weakness.
And yet despite that, Southgate should resist any temptation to go for a safer option in midfield. England need a midfielder who can help the rest of the team play, and the defensive downside of Mainoo is still, on balance, a price worth paying. England are only in the quarter-finals by the skin of their teeth. They may as well try to play.
Carey: Mainoo had a decent game against Slovakia. He offered passing options within the opposition defensive structure and was willing to receive the ball in tighter areas and get on the half-turn to punch the ball forward.
It is a valuable skill, and is something that Declan Rice and Alexander-Arnold are less comfortable with in central areas. Both players prefer to pull into wider areas to receive the ball with the game ahead of them.
Despite Mainoo being strong on the ball, England will need an energetic midfield against Switzerland, who are particularly strong in their possession-dominant approach with Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler and a drifting Michel Aebischer.
Therefore, England’s midfield might require more of a combative presence in the shape of Gallagher on this occasion, not least to get tight to Xhaka and prevent him from dictating the tempo of the game. It might sound like a negative approach, but Gallagher’s off-ball contribution might unlock greater upside elsewhere on the pitch for England.
Who makes your starting XI on Saturday?
(Top photos: Marc Guehi and Kieran Trippier; Getty Images)