The England vs Denmark line-up is in.
The Three Lions kicked off their Euro 2024 campaign on a positive note, narrowly edging out Serbia in a 1-0 victory in Gelsenkirchen, introducing themselves in Germany stylishly on Sunday, coolly pinging passes around the opposition’s half and bagging an early goal courtesy of the inevitable Jude Bellingham.
Having got their goal, however, it slipped into an all-too-familiar pattern of parking men behind the ball. It’s a criticism that Gareth Southgate has struggled to shake off throughout his England tenure and the performance against the Eagles will have done little to turn that around.
The England vs Denmark line-up
It's the same XI as played against Serbia.
England claiming all three points in the opening fixture of a major tournament is a rare treat, so the narrow win should not be treated with too much disdain, but there have been some key decisions for Southgate to ponder as he approaches the tougher test of Kasper Hjulmand’s Denmark.
Foden underperformed out on the left but retains his place, with Alexander-Arnold remaining in midfield. Trippier, meanwhile, is not a natural left-back – but this is likely to be an opportunity for Southgate to give everyone another chance, ahead of a more difficult knockout stage.
The headline decision centres around who will take the attacking midfield role. It was handed to Bellingham against Serbia, which appeared to pay off when he notched the opener, but it meant pushing Premier League Player of the Season Phil Foden out to the left flank, where he was somewhat less effective.
In FourFourTwo's view, it makes sense for Foden to start in his most natural position, having seen what he can produce throughout the season for Manchester City, arguably one of the best domestic teams in world football. Bellingham has the attributes to help out in defensive areas, as often displayed in his time in the host nation for Borussia Dortmund, so he can easily adjust and will still be able to control the tempo of the game from here.
Southgate’s side is blessed with attacking talent, so he may bring on a substitute in that wide role to move Foden infield later on: take your pick from Anthony Gordon, Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze. That will be another key choice for the England boss, but it’d be difficult to see any of the trio as a poor choice.
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