I know we talk about playing a more progressive team and we talk about Southgate’s limitations, but I do also wonder if we’re currently a match made even if there are what if moments.
Players like Sancho, Grealish and Foden are all the sorts we’d like to see in our team but being honest you have to evaluate the midfield options before making that kind of choice.
Our current midfield 2 is Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice, we may add a Henderson for more combativeness or a Mount for more possession but really this isn’t a midfield that is going to be dictating tempo and constantly playing passes through the lines. It’s going to be high wing backs and Phillips/Rice’s distance passing to switch sides to a less congested area of the pitch.
Harry Kane is so instrumental to how we play because he is someone that can drop deep, drag a defender and pass through the lines. Because of that you need speed on the wings and so that’s going to Sterling and then one of Foden, Grealish, Saka and Sancho. Maybe Foden plays attacking mid instead of Mount, but ultimately I don’t think we can afford to have a midfield that isn’t industrious at all times.
Once you remove the Phillips/Rice partnership, or Henderson instead of Rice, and start chucking Bellingham and Mount in it falls apart. I think Phillips can play at the base of a tempo controlling team, but Rice would need someone better than Phillips behind him and better than Mount ahead of him to fit into that.
The key aspects to this team that can’t change are defensive solidity in our centre backs, Phillips/Rice partnership, aggressive wing backs who can defend too, and a Kane/Sterling partnership. Everything outside of that is up to debate, which in fairness, isn’t a lot.
If we ever move away from the back 5 I don't know but one thing I'm fairly certain this England team needs is an industrious midfield because I would say our midfielders in Phillips, Rice, Henderson, Bellingham and Mount all have in common is that none of them are dictate the tempo, break through the lines with a slick pass from deep type midfielder and all of them have varying levels of defensive nous. And that dictates how the rest of the team plays as Foden just isn't an attacking for England.
Sterling/Grealish - Kane - Sterling/Foden/Saka
Mount/Bellingham - Rice/Henderson/Bellingham
Phillips/Henderson
Chilwell/Shaw/Trippier - Maguire/Tomori - Stones - Walker/James/TAA
Pickford
That imo is as attacking as this current England team will get or should get during the next tournament.