Supposedly the England team is as follows

Not sure if he'll be fit at all this tournament.

 

5 subs permitted, over 3 windows. Maybe Southgate has been watching Val?

 

I don't have a problem with Walker (Prem winner), Trippier (La Liga) or James (Champions League) at right back all plenty good enough. Just weird when he's two natural (and very good) left backs and shoe horns a right back in there instead.

 

I think he's probably gone with Trippier's international experience alongside Mings. If Maguire was fit then he'd have probably gone with one of the 'natural' left backs.

 

I wasn’t really bothered who he picked at full back on either side, until he picked a right back at full back.

If we’re going to do anything in this tournament, we need to find a way of getting Foden, Mount and Grealish in the team. Not sure Phillips and Rice are good enough to contain their midfield, so may as well attack them.

 

I don't know many England players these days.

I watched the game and thought we were anything but negative, with Croatia unable to get the ball or out of their own half of the field for much of the first half. The lad everyone criticised who is supposedly bang out of form scored the only goal and was our best forward, and I couldn't see any reason to criticise Trippier's performance who was solid if unspectacular.

Southgate 1 - BBS -5

 

Setting myself up for some flak here and the lad will hopefully make me eat my words but....Harry Kane....once again comes up against decent quality opposition and disappears. Have a look at his list of international goals and who he's scored them against.
and if anyone's going to mention the golden boot it was a collection of penalties and one that hit him and went in against Tunisia, Paraguay and Colombia.
Jury still well and truly out for me on him at the top level. He had no impact whatsoever yesterday.

 

Backing Kane big time to score against the jocks on Friday...

 

I do not watch England very often, but I did so last night. The thing that struck me most was the fact that Kane was rarely in the game. It used to be that goal scorers were required to do very little, other than put the ball in the net. In the modern game, they have to work just as hard as everyone else. This means that in our defensive formation, he was the only forward player, but he was required to drop deeper than used to be the case, and do his covering and his harrying. When we have the ball, he must constantly rotate his positions with the other 2 player in the front 3. Unfortunately, that means that he sometimes is not in the natural position that a goal scorer would take up. It seemed a waste t use a proven goal scorer in that way.

The undoubted star of the night (in my opinion) was Calvin Phillips. In contrast to Kane, he was playing in his natural position and in his natural role. He used the space and time that he got by playing slightly deeper, and between the lines in a sense, by picking his passes and dominating the game. The lesson that I took from the game is that players sometimes have to sacrifice their own games for the good of the system that the coach wants to use. I did not particularly enjoy the game, but we won. It all sounds very familiar.

 

Lol, I'm not saying he's rubbish, just that I really don't think he's proved he's a world class striker. Yes he got the golden boot but he scored four of five against inferior opposition including penalties and one that he knew nothing about. He was very, very lucky to win that. When he starts putting in top quality performances and scoring goals in the big games against big teams I'll concede he's a true world class striker.

 

Thats the system though.

If he isnt suited to it , then pick someone else.

Kane and Walker were the two that didnt seem to be at their best.

Give another of the right backs a run out against Scotland.

Though if Southgate thinks Scotland go 3-5-2 , then I think he will match it up.