Gareth Southgate wants England players to play for their club... until he doesn't.
On numerous occasions during his tenure the Three Lions boss has justified squad selections and omissions by highlighting how few minutes certain players are getting at club level. It makes sense ultimately, any player, no matter their history or stature, needs regular outings to remain sharp.
Yet, just two months out from a World Cup, Southgate is willing and happy to pick defenders who are battling for their starting berths at club level. The justification being that they have credit in the bank, as is the case with the likes of Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, who both started at Wembley on Monday night.
Those unique exemptions haven't been afforded to those in other areas of the squad. The likes of Dean Henderson, Jadon Sancho and Conor Gallagher, all among those to fall short of squads gone by due to a lack of regular minutes.
Southgate has confessed it is a concern, stating recently: “Clearly, we have a number of players including Ben Chilwell, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips who are not playing a lot of minutes with their club. It is not ideal, but we feel they have been, and can be, important players for us. It is not a perfect situation but there is still a lot of football to be played before Qatar."
England have persisted with a back three, the system they deployed in the final of Euro 2020, and against Germany they went with Maguire, John Stones and Eric Dier. The latter duo are spending as much time on Manchester sub benches as they are on pitches, which will have long-term effects.
Maguire's selection has been under the microscope for the best part of a year, but Southgate has continued to stick by his man, even while he's been unceremoniously dumped at club level.
The former Leicester City star has been a mainstay of England's recent success but his credit in the bank must surely be wearing thin after his latest error, no doubt owing to a lack of sharpness, saw him hack down Jamal Musiala and gift Germany their opener from the penalty spot.
Dier is the only of the trio to be playing regularly for his club and has long been a favourite under Southgate, who was surely thrilled to see him back in the Tottenham team after periods out, thus giving him greater reason to pick him.
While such regular names are being picked those lesser known ones, perhaps more deserving, are being overlooked as a result. Fikayo Tomori, who now operates outside of the limelight in Italy, where he won the Serie A title, must be wondering what he must do to earn England caps.
He watched on on Friday night, in the stadium that he calls home, as England's backline failed to keep out an injury-hit Italian side who couldn't even qualify for the World Cup. Marc Guehi at Crystal Palace is another man struggling for a look in, which suggests Southgate has, as good as, picked his first choice defence for Qatar with no more games until the opener.
Tactical flexibility does exist however in the form of some versatile full-backs. The right-back spot has been the most hotly debated one of the Southgate era with Trent Alexander-Arnold left out of the squad all together against Germany. The England boss was diplomatic about his omission, but that may spell the end of his starting chances.
Both Kyle Walker and Reece James ended up on the pitch, despite the Manchester City man starting on the bench. He came on midway through the first-half once Stones was hit by a hamstring injury and slotted into the back three, which he has done previously.
James is equally capable of doing so, perhaps even more suited to the demands of being a centre-half. The benefit of having the Chelsea man, Walker and Kieran Trippier is that all three men can occupy more than one role, which Alexander-Arnold perhaps can't.
On the left flank though was yet another example of Southgate overriding his own 'you must be playing rule' to select Luke Shaw over Bukayo Saka, who is regularly playing for Arsenal. The United man's lack of minutes was not as evident as some of his teammates admittedly as he scored the first of England's three. That said, Saka's impact off the bench only served to highlight how a club regular, and one playing full of confidence, can effect a game.
Nevertheless, on the final outing before Qatar Southgate appears to have made it clear that questionable club form or a lack of regular minutes will not come before the success of the last two tournaments. He doubled down after the final whistle, declaring: “In these moments, we’ve always got to back our best and most experienced players... unless it’s untenable.”
It appears he will do just that, for better or for worse.
The fightback against Germany may well lift morale and give fans greater optimism heading towards Qatar, but it did little to answer the glaring questions around England's backline as attack again proved the side's best form of defence.
