Chameleonic England

In footballing chatter, a lot of emphasis is put on a settled first XI, or the manager definitively knowing his best lineup.

This is understandable and, in many cases, absolutely correct. A consistent starting lineup helps the team gel, the players build relationships on the pitch and can see a style of play start to become more developed and refined.

As with many things in football, however, this is not a rule for every team or situation. And Gareth Southgate’s England side look to be a good example of why it’s ok to shift your starting XI.

The main factor behind this is England’s vast array of attacking talent, all waiting eagerly in line to support Harry Kane.

This set of players comprises of Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Mason Mount and Jadon Sancho.

It’s a mouthwatering list of options for Southgate, but also presents a conundrum to try and pick the definitively best set of options to start for England.

Very broadly speaking, the players are all at relatively similar high levels of quality. They are all top players and, while some of them have not participated in the competition as of yet, could all consider themselves pretty much at a Champions League kind of level.

The players all have different qualities, too, of course. Mount offers diligent and organised pressing better than the rest, Grealish brings an element of flair and creativity that the others don’t quite replicate, and Sterling’s ability to run in behind and drive forward with the ball are key for England.

All of these players possess different weapons which will work better against certain opponents more than others. Having a definitive starting set-up is not the way to get the best out of this group of players.

The Scotland game is a good example of this, with it being pretty much Southgate’s only error throughout the tournament so far as he failed to effectively make the best use of the attacking options at his disposal.

Understandably, England went for the same starting XI that beat Croatia, with Mount and Sterling in that attacking trio behind Kane having done a particularly good job at shutting down Croatia’s midfield.

Against Scotland, it became increasingly apparent that this formula of players (Sterling, Mount and Foden) wasn’t working.

In this instance, Southgate lacked decisive in-game action (a question mark still hanging from the 2018 World Cup, although arguably rectified against Germany in the last 16) to shake up his attack.

The change he eventually settled on was Grealish for Foden. It was a bizarre change given Foden had had the most joy against a deeply set Scotland defence that had effectively denied space in behind and blocked England incredibly effectively.

It was a game where Southgate’s trusted lieutenant Sterling probably should have come off, as Scotland excellently denied him the spaces that he profits on.

Foden and Grealish are a little more like for like and the change ultimately did very little to unlock the Scotland defence.

Southgate didn’t make the best use of his various attacking tools against Scotland, but overall it has just been a blip in an excellent tournament.

The inclusion of Saka against Czech Republic worked impeccably, with Saka both carrying the ball from deep and running in behind a slightly higher Czech defence to cause trouble. The Arsenal youngster’s terrorising of right back Jan Boril when the two met in the Europa League may also have been a factor in Southgate’s decision to start him.

England then showed yet more flexibility against Germany with a switch to a 3-4-3 in order to match up against Joachim Low’s side.

It showed that England needn't be wedded to a single formation, as well as not being wedded to a certain set of attacking options. In knockout games, it’s a case of do what you need to do to win, rather than cultivating a long term playing style.

The formation switch helped nullify Germany’s wing-backs - who had caused so much chaos against Portugal - and the selections of Saka and Sterling with their strong tracking back and pressing skills helped to nullify Germany further.

Then with the 70th minute approaching, Southgate made the decision to bring on Grealish for Saka with the latter fading, and the Villa man capable of capitalising on a game that was just becoming a little more tired and stretched.

It was a substitution that worked perfectly, and showed an advancement in Southgate’s ability to make decisions during a game to really alter and affect the outcome.

While some cried that this was vindication for them wanting to have started Grealish, Southgate had in fact managed the situation perfectly. Grealish from the start doesn’t necessarily have the same effect as Grealish on 70 minutes. The game state is vastly different, as well as the energy levels of the opposing players.

Southgate has a uniquely large and talented group of attacking players who can all offer something different. He has a solid back line that can comfortably operate in a four and a three.

He has the luxury of being able to modify his approach and personnel for certain opponents without ever really compromising the overall quality of the side. This can either be in the starting lineup or off the bench, as we saw against Germany with Grealish.

For this England side, the concept of a definitive first XI is overrated.