Ahead of England’s opening World Cup game against Iran on November 21, the Sky Sports pundits have picked their starting XIs and discussed some of the big decisions to be made.
Gareth Southgate named his 26-player squad on Thursday and will now have just a few days to work with his players before their first match in Qatar.
On Super Sunday, Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville, Jamie Redknapp, Karen Carney and Jamie Carragher all picked their England starting XI, explaining their choices. Key individual players were also analysed, plus the potential formations Southgate could consider.
Read on to see who they chose and why…
Neville: Why England must play with a back three
“I’m going with a three at the back because I’m going with what Gareth has done in the last few games. I would be amazed if he switched it from that to a back four. He hasn’t got a centre-back pairing that he trusts. Which two centre-backs do you put in and say you trust them? None of them are good enough, unfortunately.
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