Aside from the goalkeeping situation shouldn't this international break be more for fine tuning rather than still picking your 23 players? Here's my first 11 as things stand going into Russia.
Pope
Walker(rb) Stones(rcb) Maguire(lcb) Rose(lb)
Delph(dm)
Alli (rcm) Lallana(lcm)
Sterling (rwf) Kane (cf) Rashford (lwf)
I think it's good we don't have one player stealing all the focus and attention, we might actually put a balanced team out with chemistry as a result without loads of pressure to win anything, just go and perform.
Down the right hand side of the team I picked I think are the strongest/most straight forward choices.
I think the GK spot is up for grabs, I'm not convinced with Pickford would his distribution go to pot under pressure? Burnley are doing fantastically this season and it's not because they are scoring for fun. We'll need to see how Pope does in his call up, Butland is good shout also.
Lcb is the one I'm not sure on, ideally we would have a left footed player there as it adds balance to the back line, but from a quick look our choices are thin and I believe Maguire is comfortable in that position while offering strength and the ability to play out from the back. Left footed CB options:
Tyrone Mings - Bournemouth: Not having a great season according to his Sqwuaka performance score of -23, while whoscored says he's got a 75% passing accuracy from an average of 33 per game. Ben Gibson - Middlesbrough: Playing in second tier but having a great season with a Sqwuaka performance score of +534... been likened to John Terry in his style of play? Has a 80% passing accuracy near enough from an average of 45 per game.
Defensive midfield we are short on options IMO, Dier and Henderson have had too many chances and failed to impress. Let Delph have a crack at it if he's fit. From defence to midfield I think we should strive for balance based on how well they press or play out from the back(preferably they are good at both), City have the best press in the PL followed by Liverpool and then Spurs.
I'd also like to see how well Lallana can link up with Rashford up top, he should forget trying too hard to score the goals as he normally does and instead concentrate fully on creating and helping the team try to hold onto the ball as much as possible. Alli has to play for me as unlikeable as he is, he can be very good and if things are running smoothly(a big if with Southgate in control) he could maybe even boss the midfield if he pulls his socks up.
Sterling and Rashford seems to be everyone's choice of wingers, pace and attacking intent coming from both sides combined with a good CF can cause havoc for opposition defences hopefully. CF has to be Kane to start with, Vardy is a good option if Kane bottles it as much as I don't like Vardy when we play against him.
