Monday evening brought reasons for positivity for England’s manager and the public, even after a predictably pedestrian first half. Cole Palmer’s goal, Eberechi Eze’s dynamism and Jack Grealish’s impact means that we are spoilt for choice in attacking midfield areas – difficult decisions must be made.
Further back, Conor Gallagher’s energy shone through more than during the March international break, Trent Alexander-Arnold is clearly an option for Gareth Southgate in central midfield and Adam Wharton was exemplary after his introduction. Again, Southgate can’t take them all.
But there’s a problem that has been growing for at least 18 months. It seems ludicrous to suggest that England’s squad is stronger than it was at Qatar 2022, and thus that failure to win this tournament would be unacceptable, when England’s defensive plans are in such disarray.
Thanks to a combination of form and fitness issues, Southgate faces the prospect of having no chance before heading to Germany to road test what he might consider to be his best defence. Even then, there are doubts whether everyone will be fit for Serbia on 15 June.
Here, i goes through each of England’s defenders in turn to detail the concerns:
Harry Maguire
A cert to start if he’s fully fit, but that’s becoming less guaranteed all the time. Maguire last played a minute of competitive football on 27 April, Manchester United’s home draw against Burnley, subsequently picking up a muscle injury in training. Southgate said on Sunday that Maguire is unlikely to play in either of the pre-tournament friendlies.
John Stones
Unlike Maguire, Stones has started a game since April. Unfortunately, that one start was the FA Cup final and Manchester City lost it with Stones looking a little rusty, no surprise given he’s managed one Premier League start since the March internationals. This really isn’t ideal, you know.
Kyle Walker
Thank goodness for Kyle Walker. He’s fit, he has been brilliant this season and his recovery pace helps everybody alongside him and allows him to overlap and let Bukayo Saka drift infield. England’s one fully fit defender from the last World Cup starting XI. So he’ll probably pick up a hamstring strain at England’s training camp near Erfurt.
Kieran Trippier
Quite probably England’s starting left-back at the Euros, presuming that Luke Shaw will take time to get to speed even when he returns to full training. That’s interesting because a) Trippier isn’t a left-back, and b) his own club form has been patchy this season. Still, he’s never let England down and, as such, will be trusted to fill in. Southgate hasn’t picked any other natural left-backs, so needs must.
Luke Shaw
The third of our creaking triumvirate of first-choice defenders, Shaw hasn’t played for club or country since being substituted with injury during Manchester United’s victory at Luton Town on 18 February. In his initial press conference of this summer, Southgate admitted that Shaw was a long shot for the tournament at all and, while that stance has slightly softened, it would be a surprise to see Shaw see any action until the end of the groups.
Ezri Konsa
England’s Mr Versatile. If you are worried about the fitness of multiple players, it makes complete sense to take a couple of multi-positional, multi-functional defenders who may not start at all but remain vital squad members. Konsa seems the most likely of those, having played at right-back and centrally against Bosnia and during his previous cap against Belgium. I don’t see him missing out on the squad.
Marc Guehi
Was, I think, the next most likely starter after Maguire and Stones heading into the Bosnia friendly. That’s now slightly less clear because Guehi looked uneasy for most of his hour on the pitch, not ideal given how little Bosnia had of the game. Maybe no surprise given that Guehi has played 108 Premier League minutes since February (can you spot a theme here?), but it doesn’t help his cause much.
Lewis Dunk
I’m delighted that Dunk got another chance with England, five years after his first cap, but he’s simply never looked comfortable during his last three appearances and that means you can’t pick him in an international tournament. This is why Maguire and Stones are the starters and why we must cross our fingers and pray that they get and stay fit.
Joe Gomez
Wasn’t picked for the reserves against Bosnia, which means one of two things: 1) Gomez is likely to be cut from the squad, or 2) Gomez is likely to start at left-back for England against Iceland on Friday, with Shaw still out. I’m leaning towards the second option, which would likely mean he’s on the plane.
Jarrad Branthwaite
Hmmm. Branthwaite being only a substitute for a match in which Southgate started three natural central defenders is not ideal, suggesting that he’s one of those ones to be cut. But then Guehi and Dunk performed with such surprising unease that there’s a case for starting Branthwaite against Iceland and taking him over Dunk if he impresses.
Jarell Quansah
Southgate said, when announcing his preliminary squad, that several young players were being included as a recognition of their progress and as an attempt to acclimatise them in this environment before they (hopefully) make the step up in future. Quansah will be one of those, and that’s fine.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
I’m not even sure we can count him as a defender anymore. Walker has the right-back spot nailed, so shuffling Alexander-Arnold into midfield makes sense if he can hold his own there. Has played in that advanced role in each of his last three England caps – it’s just a shame that injuries have limited it to three so close to a major tournament.
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