An England XI made up entirely of right-backs to win Southgate the Euros –
Gareth Southgate has seemed determined to play as many right-backs as possible for England in recent weeks, which has made us think whether the Three Lions could field an entire team of them.
In fairness, England boast an enviable depth in this position and are surely more stacked there than any other country in the world. Even a team of our finest right-backs could make a good fist of Euro qualification, at least judging by some of the groups they’ve been drawn in over the last few campaigns.
We present this line-up in a 4-3-3 formation. Apologies to Gareth, but there’s no room for Mason Mount.
GK: Kyle Walker
An obvious choice, but sometimes the best choices are.
Walker has kept goal for Manchester City before, during a Champions League tie at Atalanta in the 2019-20 season.
We also think Walker fancies himself as something of a communicator and has Pep-endorsed footwork so can play out from the back. What could go wrong?
Gianluigi Buffon and Kyle Walker boast the best save success rate in the Champions League this season (100%) pic.twitter.com/r9Ecoi782U
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 30, 2020
RB: Matty Cash
Obtaining the coveted right-back slot in our RB team is new Villa signing Matty Cash.
Signed from Nottingham Forest this summer, Cash has made an impressive start to his career at Villa Park and we reckon the 23-year-old would provide defensive stability and thrusting forward runs in this team.
CB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Wan-Bissaka may lack the height you’d expect from a centre-back, but has the tough tackling and positioning to compensate. He can be the English Cannavaro.
Let’s hope he’s not been taking too many notes from Harry Maguire recently.
CB: George Baldock
We think a team that contained an overlapping centre-back would be the most revolutionary in international football since Marcelo Bielsa’s Chile side at the 2010 World Cup.
Baldock, well-versed in the system at Sheffield United, can be used to demonstrate how England have moved on from the days of 4-4-f*cking-2.
LB: Kieran Trippier
With a defensive toughness honed by spending time under Diego Simeone and a set-piece prowess demonstrated during the last World Cup, it seems natural to place Trippier in the same position he has recently played for his country anyway.
CDM: Luke Ayling
Southgate has taken a shine to Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips in recent month, playing him alongside Declan Rice and Eric Dier in the footballing equivalent of triple locking your front door when you pop to the shops.
In this team, we reckon Phillips’ club team-mate Luke Ayling would more than suffice, given he was initially deployed in the position after leaving Arsenal to join Yeovil.
Possessing good work-rate, impressive hair power and capable of jaw-dropping volleys, Ayling would also make our team one of the coolest around too.
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