One of the few certainties concerning the England lineup forward of their Euro 2020 opener in opposition to Croatia on Sunday is that they may take the knee earlier than kickoff.
However, the formation, tactical strategy and personnel that supervisor Gareth Southgate will utilise after that anti-racist gesture are largely unknown – and never as a result of of some masterful secrecy in his camp.
Usually there are one or two query marks heading right into a event opener however within the case of Southgate’s England there are sufficient for a full night of pub quiz.
Harry Kane will lead the road and captain the group and John Stones will play within the centre of defence however past these two certainties there are solely probables and possibles.
The harm to central defender Harry Maguire has given Southgate his greatest headache – does he belief the inexperienced Aston Villa centre-half Tyrone Mings sufficient to companion him with Stones in a traditional again 4?
If not, he’ll most likely revert to a few on the again and play with wing-backs.
With Jordan Henderson solely simply getting back from harm, Declan Rice is the obvious starter within the holding midfield space, however will he fly solo or with a companion equivalent to Kalvin Phillips?
HOW BRAVE?
The most enjoyable half of the England group is the inventive midfield space. Phil Foden, Mason Mount and Jack Grealish are all thrilling abilities, however is Southgate courageous sufficient to play all three collectively?
And then there are Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling, thought of certainties a 12 months in the past to play both aspect of Kane however who’ve each been under their greatest in latest months.
“Whether we play with wingers in a 4-3-3, quantity 10s in a 3-4-3, with two wingers and a quantity 10 in a 4-2-3-1, we’ve received in these entrance slots very thrilling gamers who can win matches,” mentioned Southgate.
Normally the pre-tournament games would give a clue to a coach’s thinking but Southgate decided to rest his Manchester City and Chelsea players after they played in last month’s Champions League final.
England need no reminders of the quality of opponent they face at Wembley – Croatia defeated Southgate’s side in the World Cup semi-final in 2018.
Playmaker Luka Modric is now 35 but his guile will still pose problems for England, allied with Chelsea’s solid midfielder Mateo Kovacic.
“Luka is unique, he is the ultimate professional and he’s earned it all at both club and international level, having become the best midfielder in the world,” mentioned Kovacic.
“He’s given every little thing to Croatia and his membership, he deserves to be remembered as one of the world’s prime midfielders.”
But as memorable as the win in Moscow was, Kovacic knows this will be another challenge.
“It’s been three years and this is a different tournament. But of course we will be going for a win again because it would be a massive confidence boost for the rest of the tournament,” he mentioned.
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