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It’ll be interesting to see which players Thomas Tuchel turns to if England are, say, 1-1 or 2-1 down against France with 20 minutes to go. Cole Palmer’s ability and ego (in a positive sense) make him a perfect fit. Trent Alexander-Arnold could become an impact sub from right-back, which never happened to Gary Neville.
You need players who are effective against a low block, which is why I’d be loath to rule out Ivan Toney at this stage.
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Pickford; James, Stones/Konsa*, Guehi, Lewis-Skelly**; Wharton Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon/Rashford***; Kane.
Wharton? Anderson has been one of, if not the best, players since he came into the England team. But yeah, let’s replace him with someone who hasn’t played at all.
My team:
Pickford, James, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly, Anderson, Rice, Bellingham, Saka, Gordon, Kane.
For me, Rashford too much of an individual talent compared to Gordon. Gordon a better team player
Wharton is just a personal preference – I’m obsessed with him in a way that isn’t entirely appropriate, and think he could play for any team in the world. But I agree Anderson has been superb and it would be grossly unfair of leave him out.
I haven’t seen enough of O’Reilly to form a judgement, though he was very impressive against Mo Salah last Sunday. Lewis-Skelly’s lack of game time is a problem though; not sure what can be done about that because Arsenal won’t loan him out in the second half of the season.
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My colleague Michael Butler has picked his England XI.
Pickford; James, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly; Wharton, Rice; Saka, Bellingham (unless Foden is on fire), Rashford; Kane.
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Scotland v Denmark (Tuesday 7.45pm)
“Last night was wild, Rob,” writes Simon McMahon. “All-day drinking is not big or clever. At one point I was being sick into my pint glass giving Clarke and his shower of charlatans masquerading as football players both barrels, effing and jeffing at the TV and switching to the darts in disgust, before ending up praying that Belarus held on in Denmark and celebrating a Scotland defeat. God knows what Tuesday will be like.”
I’ve just checked and I’m down to cover the game for us, so please send in any drunken missives from, ooh, 9am?
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On this day in 1996… the first meeting between Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal. Check out the technique from David Beckham, who was having a brilliant season in central midfield.
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Pick your best England XI
Oi! Listen up. If England were playing in a World Cup quarter-final tomorrow, and everyone was fit, what would be your XI?
Post it BTL or email matchday.live@theguardian.com
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Updated at 09.10 CET
