Gareth Southgate, England’s semi-intellectual, waistcoat-strapped manager, knows he’s on his last chance at Euro 2024. He’s failed to bring a trophy home three times now and four will be unacceptable. This perhaps explains his newfound ruthlessness: he’s cut his most heroic failures from the squad who will travel to Germany. Jack Grealish, who brought good vibes but not a trophy, is gone. Jordan Henderson, who was kept around to set a good example, is no longer needed. Mason Mount, the teachers’ pet, didn’t make the cut. Nor did Marcus Rashford, the nation’s favourite player-activist. Harry Maguire, a Dunkirk boy for a squad trying to ape Normandy, is not worth the injury risk.
‘It’s coming home’ will have to mean it this summer
Southgate’s decisions are non-sentimental. Previously he selected players based on their form for England, rather than for their club. It’s why fans had to put up with seeing Raheem Sterling get caught offside for so long, and why Phil Foden was kept away from the starting lineup. Despite Southgate’s left-ish politics, the England manager has been an arch-conservative on team management.
Until now. Most fans wouldn’t have heard of Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton a year ago. Yet it’s feasible that they will feature in England’s first game against Serbia next Sunday. The simple truth is that previous regulars like Rashford, Henderson and Grealish have been too bad this season to justify a seat on the plane. At the same time, England’s youngsters have been too brilliant to ignore.
Wharton, Mainoo and Eberechi Eze represent a new, more cultured style of English football. Previously, players like Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes learnt how to play the game in scuffed-up parks, which is why they could ping a 60-yard ball with ease and never stop running. The new generation grew up idolising Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, trying to recreate Xavi and Iniesta’s cerebral tiki-taka in oppressively tight council astros.
The face of the revolution is Jude Bellingham. The boy was a man at 17, when he first started playing at the highest level for Borussia Dortmund. Now 20, he has just won his first Champions League with Real Madrid and is one of the best footballers in the world. Man City’s Premier League player of the season Phil Foden, who has often been said to not fit England’s formation, will now see England fit around him. Those two – the best attacking midfielders in the world – will be led into battle by Harry Kane, the most in-form striker in the world. On the wings should be the gloriously raw Bukayo Saka, or the free radical Cole Palmer. Declan Rice in holding midfield will have a lot to do, but he should be able to do it. His partner is unknown. Mainoo or Wharton are probably too risky, so Trent Alexander-Arnold – who is tactically dim but unbelievably good at kicking a football – will probably slot in. The other option is to pair Rice with a golden retriever (otherwise known as Conor Gallagher). Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen can come off the bench and run.
This is a team that should win the tournament. England fans look at France and get scared by Mbappe and Griezmann. Germany have Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gündoğan and Jamal Musiala. Portugal have some talent – Ruben Dias, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva the best of them – but will probably be led astray by the rotten presence of a late Cristiano Ronaldo. But fans in Paris, Berlin and Lisbon will be more scared of the England squad.
Defence is the only worry. The right side of the back line looks good: John Stones has been perfected by Pep Guardiola. Kyle Walker is the most brilliant, intelligent right-back of the past ten years, despite him having some questionable off-the-pitch hobbies. The manic Jordan Pickford is a deceptively good keeper.
But Harry Maguire’s calf injury is trouble for the left side. The remaining options are bad: clunky Lewis Dunk from Brighton, the bang average Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, and the boring Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa. A right-footer – probably Kieran Trippier – will have to play on the left until Luke Shaw returns from injury.
Two weak positions out of 11 ain’t bad, though, particularly when the other nine are as good as they are. Southgate is a lucky man, so ‘it’s coming home’ will have to mean it this summer. What’s more, Manchester United’s new owner Jim Ratcliffe reportedly want to hire him as manager if he becomes available. That should be some motivation to do well.
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