Euro 2020: 4 biggest mistakes made by Gareth Southgate in selecting the England squad
Gareth Southgate has announced the 26-man England squad for Euro 2020 and he has made quite a few curious choices. The England manager had earlier announced a 33-man provisional squad that is preparing for two warm-up friendlies ahead of Euro 2020.
He has now trimmed it down to 26. Given the kind of talent pool that Southgate was dealing with, he was always going to have to make difficult decisions. Managers have to put their personal bias and sentiments at the gates and go with personnel that adds value and quality to the team.
England have a wide array of talents to choose from. The Premier League is packed with extremely talented English players but some have not made the cut despite having good seasons at an individual level.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the four big mistakes made by Gareth Southgate in selecting the England squad for Euro 2020.
#4 Southgate chooses four right-backs in England squad for Euro 2020
Gareth Southgate has made the curious decision to include four right-backs in his squad for Euro 2020. He has chosen Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Reece James and Trent-Alexander Arnold. All four players have performed well in recent times and the Liverpool right-back has been in sublime form of late.
Both Kyle Walker and Reece James have played as part of a three-man defence as well. It looks like Southgate is likely to go with a three-at-the-back system. If that's the case, then he will need wing-backs. Trent-Alexander Arnold has quite possibly been selected for his midfield ability and it could be him or Reece James that starts out wide.
If he goes for a traditional four-man defence, then he has all four players at his disposal but only one will make the cut. As such, even though Southgate has preferred using Kieran Trippier in the past, it certainly looks like he could have been left out. With Walker, James and Alexander Arnold, Southgate has everything covered.
Meanwhile, the England manager has just two options on the left wing. He has selected Manchester United's Luke Shaw and Chelsea's Ben Chilwell. Both Shaw and Chilwell are a cut above their competition and their selections are entirely justified.
But the point to note here is that Southgate could have chosen to add more depth to other areas on the pitch by limiting the number of right-backs. Right now, England's squad for Euro 2020 is riddled with them, several of whom share the same qualities.