Have said it before on this thread but the England squad needs a water carrier to sit between Rice and Bellingham - and occasionally behind them - for this team to click how people want it to. Hopefully Wharton has already done enough to be that guy. And, for what it's worth, he's clearly more than a water carrier because he's tall, graceful, and knows how to split the lines. So many passes he played last night where I could just see Foden picking it up with his back to goal and then turning on a dime away from a defender.
Pickford
Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw
Rice, Wharton
Saka, Bellingham, Foden
Kane
That team can win the Euros. But if Southgate tries to squeeze Rice, Bellingham, and Foden into midfield with Saka, Palmer, and Kane up front he can forget about it. England have had this problem for years where they just think all their good attacking players will compensate for a weak foundation. It never works. It didn't work during the 'Golden Generation' under Sven, and it won't work under Southgate. It was especially glaring at Qatar 2022 where they came up against a team of similar ability but has always understood the value of having a guy doing the grunt work in midfield so the better players can shine.
Every time France have reached the World Cup final they've done it by sacrificing a more talented forward player so that a midfielder can come in and stitch everything together. In 1998 (and in the 2000 Euros) it was Deschamps, in 2006 it was Makelele, in 2018 it was Kante, in 2022 it was Rabiot. England have never had that equivalent player in midfield who just stays in the middle, servicing the strikers in possession and mopping up for the defenders when out of possession. Not one of Foden, Bellingham, or Rice wants to do that kind of work but someone like Wharton, Gallagher, even Trent Alexander-Arnold definitely will.
Pickford
Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw
Rice, Wharton
Saka, Bellingham, Foden
Kane
That team can win the Euros. But if Southgate tries to squeeze Rice, Bellingham, and Foden into midfield with Saka, Palmer, and Kane up front he can forget about it. England have had this problem for years where they just think all their good attacking players will compensate for a weak foundation. It never works. It didn't work during the 'Golden Generation' under Sven, and it won't work under Southgate. It was especially glaring at Qatar 2022 where they came up against a team of similar ability but has always understood the value of having a guy doing the grunt work in midfield so the better players can shine.
Every time France have reached the World Cup final they've done it by sacrificing a more talented forward player so that a midfielder can come in and stitch everything together. In 1998 (and in the 2000 Euros) it was Deschamps, in 2006 it was Makelele, in 2018 it was Kante, in 2022 it was Rabiot. England have never had that equivalent player in midfield who just stays in the middle, servicing the strikers in possession and mopping up for the defenders when out of possession. Not one of Foden, Bellingham, or Rice wants to do that kind of work but someone like Wharton, Gallagher, even Trent Alexander-Arnold definitely will.
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