England return to action this weekend as they battle Slovakia for a place in the quarter-finals at Euro 2024.
It has been an extremely forgettable campaign so far for the misfiring Three Lions despite progressing through to the last 16 as Group C winners, with an unconvincing opening win over Serbia followed by dire draws with Denmark and Slovenia.
Gareth Southgate will be hoping that his side, while still defensively resolute, can start to flex their attacking muscles in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday night as they come up against a side who only went through as one of the four best third-place finishers at the tournament but showed their capabilities with an early upset of Belgium in Group E.
Here, Standard Sport assesses three huge decisions facing the under-fire Southgate against Slovakia.
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How to use Luke Shaw
The Manchester United defender has returned to full training and believes he is ready to feature on Sunday, but the only recognised left-back in the squad has not played since February, leaving Southgate needing to be cautious with his return.
Kieran Trippier, who has been deputising at left-back, missed group training on Thursday with a niggling groin problem, which may impact Shaw’s chances of significant minutes against Slovakia.
Palmer and Gordon pushing to start
Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon both made a positive impact from the bench in the bore draw with Slovenia and there is clamour for one or both to start on Sunday.
Palmer offers ingenuity, while Gordon would provide natural width and balance on the left. Southgate, though, would have to drop Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden or Bukayo Saka.
Mainoo surely in from off
The Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment lasted two games, while Conor Gallagher managed just 45 minutes in midfield on Tuesday.
Sunday will surely be Kobbie Mainoo’s chance to impress after an encouraging display from the bench against Slovenia. The teenager is raw but should offer England more dynamism in the middle of the park.
