Joe Cole has chosen the starting XI that he believes England should utilize for Euro 2024 – and it involves no Manchester United players.
While it’s been a difficult season for United, four of their players have a good chance of making it to England’s team for Germany in this summer’s European Championships.
Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw are all important players for the national team, and 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo has put himself in contention after a breakthrough season and an impressive debut for the national team against Belgium earlier this week.
However, Mainoo’s lack of experience could work against him, while Shaw is in a race against time to recover from an injury, with a thigh injury keeping the left-back out until May.
Even if the four players make it into the 23-man squad, none are guaranteed to be in the starting XI, and according to Cole, none of them would be in the line-up if he were in charge.
In his selection for England’s first game against Serbia, the Chelsea icon chose an unusual back-four of Joe Gomez, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
When fit, Shaw and Maguire have been almost certain starters for Southgate over the past few years, while Cole also opted for James Maddison and Phil Foden over Mainoo and Rashford.
Explaining his decisions, the former England star told TNT Sports: ‘Some may consider Joe Gomez at left-back an odd choice. Shaw isn’t fit, [Ben] Chilwell hasn’t played much.
‘But I would do this because I want Trent in the team. It will actually be a back-three with Gomez, Stones and Walker, and Trent will rotate into the midfield with Dec [Declan Rice].
‘With the players we have, we need to play high up the field and require speed at the back. I would have started Harry Maguire if my tactics were different because I think he’s excellent.
‘But playing the way I want to, at the halfway line like you see Spurs play, like you see Man City play, that style of trying to dominate possession… it makes sense to have Foden, Maddison, Trent, Rice, [Jude] Bellingham in the team. The best technicians in world football.
‘But you have to secure the defense, so play Gomez, Walker and Stones who are all very fast.’
It’s unlikely that Southgate’s tactics will be as daring as Cole’s, as he prefers stability over flair, which could work in Mainoo's favor, given that the manager has been very loyal to Maguire, who is sure to start if he remains fit.
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