Gary Neville has made a few puzzling tactical choices as he named his England starting XI for their clash with Slovenia.
The Three Lions have already qualified for the knockout phase of Euro 2024, but will look to finish top of Group C when they face Slovenia in Cologne tonight.
Gareth Southgate is set to make just one change for the game, with Conor Gallagher coming in for Trent Alexander-Arnold after the Liverpool right-back struggled to adapt to the experiment of playing in midfield.
Neville, like Southgate, would drop one player from the starting XI that drew 1-1 with Denmark last time around. However, instead of dropping Trent Alexander-Arnold to the bench, he would instead drop Kieran Trippier who has also been playing out of position at left back.
Speaking on The Overlap newsletter, Neville made some drastic changes including swapping Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka, and playing Kyle Walker in an unusual position.
Gary Neville has made some drastic changes to England side’s in his preferred XI
Neville’s team sees Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka switch to the opposite sides of the pitch
Neville feels Southgate should continue to pick Trent Alexander-Arnold but at right-back
Neville, who struggled to select his line-up and decided to change his XI, initially had Phil Foden as a central attacking midfielder alongside Jude Bellingham, and Bukayo Saka playing in the left-wing back position.
Ultimately he decided to play both in wide attacking positions as they have already, but with Foden on the right and Saka on the left.
He said: ‘Tweaking the formation to put Foden right and Saka on the left can help.
‘They also have the ability to interchange. It’s not ideal. Saka won’t be one hundred per cent happy. But, on balance, he’s a player with more directness to his game, whereas Foden will always like to play across the front line.
‘Saka is left footed which gives you that option to switch the ball out there wide, even with a right-footed full back. Foden is left footed too but less likely to stick wide.’
Neville initially picked a side with a 3-4-2-1 formation with a back three of Walker, John Stones and Marc Guehi, Alexander-Arnold and Saka as wing-backs, and a midfield combination of Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo.
Foden and Bellingham would both play centrally then behind Harry Kane.
Neville though quizzed his selection saying: ‘Can switching one player really make a big difference? Is Kobbie Mainoo in midfield enough to change the balance?
Kobbie Mainoo is the player brought in alongside Declan Rice, instead of Conor Gallagher
‘I also want to keep Alexander-Arnold in somehow. It seems wrong not to have a talent like that in the side.
‘Southgate maybe helped in that decision in that Kieran Trippier might be struggling to make the Slovenia match, so perhaps Kyle Walker will have to go to left back, with Alexander-Arnold at right back.
‘Mainoo then provides the link in midfield. It looks like Southgate will go with Conor Gallagher today but I’m feeling Mainoo is a better option there and just edges Adam Wharton because of his experience.
‘Everyone is saying Anthony Gordon should be left, because that’s where he plays for Newcastle. But that means dropping either Saka or Foden. And we’re not dropping Foden and I can’t drop Saka: he’s been one of our best players.’
Neville then ultimately went for a selection with a back-four, but with Walker on the left, and Alexander-Arnold playing slightly higher up on the right.
The midfield combination of Rice and Mainoo was kept with Bellingham just ahead, and then a front three from right to left of Foden, Kane and Saka.
Neville questioned the potential inclusion of Anthony Gordon but suggested that he couldn’t drop either Saka or Foden for the Newcastle star
Neville said: ‘That formation also allows Alexander-Arnold to either come into midfield or go outside Foden and Walker to shuffle up into a back three with Stones and Guehi when necessary. But with Saka’s pace on the left, no team will feel comfortable pushing on or pressing too high on that side.
‘It makes England much less obvious to play against and stretches the pitch. There are possibilities everywhere. It still gets all our best players on the pitch. And it has balance.
‘And yet I’m still only 80 per cent confident in my team. I am worried. Again I have 2004 flashbacks: we have great players but no obvious way of getting them all on the pitch in the right area. I’m not picking that team thinking: “Gareth, this is definitely what you should do!” There are still red flags waving.’
