Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho has picked what he feels will be the best playing XI for England in UEFA Euro 2020, and there are some surprising omissions in Marcus Rashford and Jordan Pickford.
Mourinho, who recently became the manager of Italian outfit AS Roma, following his departure from Tottenham Hotspur, has snubbed some renowned players from his England XI, with Harry Kane and Jack Grealish being termed ‘untouchables.’
England will begin their Euro 2020 campaign on Sunday, 13th June, with a Group C match against Croatia. Ahead of the big occasion, fans and pundits are donning the managerial coat and are naming their starting XIs for the competition.
According to Jose Mourinho, Jack Grealish should be deployed at left wing ahead of Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford.
Grealish is untouchable and his best position is coming in from the left.
said Mourinho, while speaking to talkSPORT.
It creates a situation, because Rashford can only play there. When he plays on the right he completely loses his dynamic, it is totally broken. He is very good on the left, attacking space. I would say Grealish on the left, Mount as the number 10 and it’s something I like a lot, inverted wingers, so I would play Foden on the right.
He further went on to explain.
As evident from his team selection, one of the hottest young talents of world football in Jadon Sancho has been ignored, so as to make way for his former teammate Phil Foden. Raheem Sterling is another notable omission from Mourinho’s list, but given the poor form of the Manchester City winger, his omission is expected by many.
Besides wingers, two other positions are sparking debates among the Three Lions loyalists – left-back and goal-keeper. As for the left-back position, England has two options in Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw.
Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell played a big role in the London-based team’s UEFA Champions League triumph, while Luke Shaw was one of Manchester United’s most consistent players, in what has been a predominantly inconsistent season for the team.
For this position, Mourinho has given Ben Chilwell the edge. “At left-back, I would go with Chilwell. I wouldn’t think twice. He is intelligent, he covers the space, is dangerous in attack, good in the air and at set-pieces,” the two-time Champions League winning manager was quoted saying.
As for the other position up for grabs, goal-keeper, Mourinho has vouched his faith on Manchester United custodian Dean Henderson. Interestingly, Henderson has played only one game for the Three Lions, compared to Jordan Pickford’s 31 caps.
I am a Henderson fan. He has this arrogance in him, this trust and belief which I think an England goalkeeper needs. He also revealed that when he was the manager of the Red Devils, he had a brief interaction with Henderson, where the goalkeeper told him about his aspiration of becoming United’s number one under the sticks.
said Mourinho.
Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell could both start against Croatia
While Mourinho and many others have voiced their opinion regarding the ‘Shaw or Chilwell’ debate, England’s head coach Gareth Southgate could opt for a solution that makes everyone happy – he might play both Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell.
England are likely to sport a 3-4-3 formation in this tournament, with three centre-backs and two wing-backs. Harry Maguire is still recovering from an injury, while Tyrone Mings looked shaky in the two friendly matches against Austria and Romania.
Keeping that in mind, Southgate could play Shaw as a left-sided centre-back and Chilwell as the left wing-back, as reports have suggested. With Kyle Walker likely to play a right-sided centre-back, the English starting XI could feature as many as four full-backs.
