England talking points vs Malta: Will Man City players feature? Will Gareth Southgate experiment?
England's bid to qualify for Euro 2024 continues with games against Malta and North Macedonia in the coming days; How far away is Gareth Southgate from knowing his best team? Will the Man City stars be ready to play?
Friday 16 June 2023 16:44, UK
Sky Sports News duo Tom Driscoll and Mark McAdam are out in Malta reporting on England - here, they assess some of the big talking points ahead of the two qualification fixtures against Malta and North Macedonia.
It's a year to go until the Euros, how far away is Gareth Southgate from his best team?
Tom Driscoll: I don't think there can be any doubt that the spine of the Euro 2024 team is set in stone. Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Luke Shaw, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane are the untouchable seven as things stand - and it would take a real bolt from someone to displace any of those players in 12 months.
The real question marks surround Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips. It's clear they cannot afford to have a repeat of their 2022/23 season - so those two positions are up for grabs if moves don't materialise. Right back competition is fierce - but that might intensify if Southgate opts to follow Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp's lead and use an inverted full back.
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Who plays alongside Kane and Saka in a front three? Marcus Rashford will want to show again it should be him, especially after his absence from a number of camps over the last two years.
Could we expect an experimental England side over the next week given the quality of opposition - or will Southgate go all guns blazing?
Tom Driscoll: England have beaten Italy and Ukraine, the two toughest opponents in the group. But Southgate hasn't indulged any rest for many of his stars. The qualification job is not done, even if many of us believe it's now very straight forward. Southgate did call Trent Alexander Arnold and John Stones' deployment as inverted full backs ''interesting'' - so let's see if we see that used.
Eberechi Eze is the player that I want to see given minutes over the next week. Eze has the ability to play in midfield and a front three. Could there be a space for him alongside Phillips and Declan Rice in Malta? James Maddison was also busy in his debut against Ukraine and deserves to build on that.
How close are the Man City stars to being available for selection in this game?
Mark McAdam: "With Man City having played until the very last moment of the season and the squad enjoying their successful treble-winning celebrations for a number of days, it's safe to say the majority of those players won't start against Malta.
All 24 available players have made the trip to the team ranked 172 in the world - all five Manchester City players were on the plane. But this could be an ideal time for Kalvin Phillips to get some much needed minutes under his belt. Southgate will hopefully reveal more when he touches down on Thursday afternoon to speak to the media but with Malta's ranking I'm sure the manager will be comfortable giving those players with less caps some minutes and an opportunity to impress.
It's a big summer for many England players transfer-wise, is there the impression that Southgate is urging those out of confidence, form and wanting to play at a higher level to change their playing situation?
Mark McAdam: It would probably be easier to name the players that haven't been linked with a potential move away from their current clubs than those that have such is the nature of the current transfer window, with so much of the speculation surrounding the players. The manager's stance has always been he'll only select players if they're playing regular first team football, that's been tested recently with Harry Maguire's lack of minutes; the same can be said for Kalvin Phillips whose been unlucky with injuries since joining City but with the Euros less than a year away and time ticking their focus needs to be on playing regularly.
Manchester United are looking at centre backs which means Maguire's minutes will be even more limited so he'll have to find a move should he want to be on the plane to Germany. Phillips needs to be conscious of this too, as does Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount who have both been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge.
The England manager was a little concerned about not having enough of his big players reporting for international duty in recent breaks, does this strong squad suggest the players are now listening?
Tom Driscoll: The message has been sent by the England manager - and the response is emphatic. Bar Lewis Dunk's withdrawal through to a fitness issue, everyone available to play has joined up. Look at Bellingham. Unable to play, he still reported to St George's Park for treatment and watched on as his team mates trained.
All the while, the announcement of his move to Real Madrid - as the world's second most expensive teenager - was 24 hours away. The current England squad is a family. The lengths the backroom staff go to making it an enjoyable environment is world leading.
Follow England's Euro Qualifiers against Malta on Friday and North Macedonia next Monday with our dedicated match blogs across Sky Sports digital platforms.
