"Dr Waistcoat has done it again"- England fans slam Southgate for not including 22-year-old star in XI for Euro 2024 clash against Slovakia
England fans on X have blasted Gareth Southgate after he excluded Cole Palmer from the starting XI to face Slovakia at Euro 2024. The two sides will face each other in the Round of 16 at the Veltins-Arena later today (Sunday, June 30).
Southgate has made one change to his side from the Three Lions' goalless stalemate against Slovenia in the group stage with Kobbie Mainoo replacing Conor Gallagher in midfield.
Jordan Pickford starts in goal for England. Kyle Walker, Marc Guehi, John Stones, and Kieran Trippier make up the defense. The midfield consists of Mainoo, Declan Rice, and Jude Bellingham. Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka start on the wings while Harry Kane leads the line in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Fans are extremely unhappy with Palmer's omission. The Chelsea star was in exceptional form last season, amassing 27 goals and 15 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions. He also made his first appearance at Euro 2024 as a second-half substitute against Slovenia and looked dangerous for England.
One fan reacted to the 22-year-old's benching by posting:
"Dr Waistcoat has done it again"
Other reactions can be viewed below:
"The Cole Palmer disrespect is real…" one fan tweeted
"Again, no Palmer. This is an utter joke," one fan typed
"No Gordon or Palmer again? Southgate is a disgrace," another added
"Cole Palmer benched again.... WTF," one fan posted
"What does Palmer need to do in order to get his deserved start," one fan questioned
"That front 4 hasn't worked at all in the first 3 games, and our best spell in the last game was due to the introductions of Palmer and Gordon from the bench... But of course Southgate makes no changes in the attacking positions," another chimed in
Former Liverpool star believes England boss Gareth Southgate must axe Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane to win Euro 2024
Former Liverpool star Didi Hamman has called for Gareth Southgate to axe the England duo of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane to give England a chance of winning Euro 2024.
The Three Lions have made a shaky start to their Euro 2024 campaign. After beating Serbia 1-0, they were held to draws against Denmark (1-1) and Slovenia (0-0). They also failed to showcase their quality up front, scoring just two goals in total.
While they finished at the top of Group C with five points, Hammann reckons Southgate needs to drop Kane and Bellingham to do better in the knockouts. He told Sky Germany (via METRO):
"There are no two opinions about England’s performance at this European Championship. The English may have won their group, but they struggled through the preliminary round and were disappointing across the board."
He continued:
"Unless Gareth Southgate changes the team in two or three positions, I see little hope. As a manager, you have to make decisions. If you stick to them consistently, nine times out of ten, a wrong decision will be better than no decision at all.
"Southgate is letting things go but he has to make a decision. Between Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham only one can play and for me that would be Foden.For me you have to take Bellingham out, Foden in the middle and then Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon on the flanks. And Southgate has to think about what he’s going to do with Harry Kane."
He added:
"With Ollie Watkins you have an agile striker who goes into spaces that Kane doesn’t go into or can’t get to at all. Kane turns 31 in July and has three years left on his contract in Munich."
Kane and Bellingham have struggled to replicate their club form for the Three Lions at Euro 2024 despite having world-class seasons. They have scored one goal each so far in the group stages.