England are now just days away from getting their Euro 2024 campaign underway, with group games against Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia. With the recent internationals allowing for further information for Southgate about the state of play in his extended squad, several names have dropped out of contention, while most of the squad will be as expected.

Despite most positions being fairly straight forward for Southgate’s selection, there are still a few areas to be decided, while also the setup may influence the style of play we see from England. With the manager being traditionally quite conservative at points, this being possibly his final chance of glory with the squad may see moments of the side being let off the leash. We’ve also had a few friendlies take place this week which have offered some potential insight into Southgate’s thinking for the tournament.

With the Serbia game taking place to kick things off, we’ve gone through the predicted XI to put forward how we expect England will set up. It could be argued that England should start off continuing the safer approach of not going too front-footed in the opener, however I believe England will want to lay down a marker early to prevent any potential slip ups in the competition opener and so may go for the more attacking options in midfield/attack.

Let us know how you predict England will set up for the opening fixture of the tournament, and get in touch with us on Twitter/X (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you have anything to add ahead of the kick off for England’s campaign.

Goalkeeper: Pickford

At this stage with Southgate for England, Pickford will be consistently selected and yet some will still doubt his inclusion, claiming his recklessness at points and being in a side often in the lower half of the Premier League. This will nearly always be countered by the argument of how he’s been reliable for the national side more often than not. For me, I am happy with Pickford in goal for England, and believe his personality and club side are the reason behind the scrutiny he receives.

Being at a side who have battled against relegation for the last few seasons, he is called upon more than the top level keepers in Europe, however he has been trusted throughout these difficult campaigns showing his quality that Everton haven’t felt this to be an area of weakness despite the constant pressure he is under. He can also give off a reckless and sometimes overly emotional display in his performances, but I think he plays with a passion and enjoyment which has often been missing from England keepers. I have felt in the past 20 years or so, the England goalkeeper has always come with so much pressure it brings out the worst mentally in players, but Pickford has an attitude of being able to brush things off quickly and play his game.

With over 60 caps now for the national team, he stands still far ahead of the backup in Ramsdale, Henderson and Trafford, and I would expect him to remain no.1 throughout the tournament.

Defence: Walker, Stones, Maguire, Trippier

Injuries have been the biggest concern for Southgate in defence heading into the tournament. With a fairly consistent back 4 the likely first choice going into the tournament, it’s dependent on fitness as Shaw, Maguire and Trippier have had spells on the side-lines, with Shaw and Maguire still question marked over their fitness for the tournament. Even Stones and Walker have had spells in and out of the City team with problems across the season.

I believe the back 4 will be Walker-Stones-Maguire-Trippier as Southgate will be keen to go with experience in his defence, as security and reliability allows the attacking options to be more flexible and forward thinking. By sticking with a common back 4 he has used throughout previous games and tournaments, he has a set of players who know their roles, can play well together and show leadership to the younger players in front.

Walker and Stones will be constants throughout the tournament aside from injury. I could see Trent Alexander-Arnold getting a spot at right back for a game or 2, but looking at recent outings I think Trent is viewed more as a midfield option with potential cover at right back. Stones is one of the worlds best on his day and has been in my opinion hugely underrated in his England career. He offers a link up to the midfield, especially with the midfield I’ve selected which will be very attack minded, he can step in to offer cover in transition if needed.

The centre back partner for Stones I’ve gone for is Maguire. There are still question marks over his fitness, but I think that by the tournament start he will be ready to go. He’s featured heavily for Manchester United and turned around his reputation which I have always felt was massively unfair on the player. He has played through injury where others wouldn’t for his club this season, been a leader on the pitch at a chaotic time and also been very impressive and reliable in his own game during tough situations. For England he rarely puts a foot wrong, and the partnership of Stones-Maguire is due for one final tournament to get England over the line.

At left-back, I don’t see Shaw starting even though I think he should be first choice in that position. I believe Southgate will revert to previous tournament setups in Trippier at left-back for the opener, with Shaw to come in from the last group game after picking up more fitness. There is other options at left-back such as Konsa, Gomez or Guehi, however I think Southgate will go with a tried and tested option, which may still require support from the bench for the last third, as Trippier himself is only just getting back to full fitness, and often has been withdrawn early to allow for extra rest and recovery. With Trippier also being given the captaincy in the recent friendly, it makes sense for Southgate to rely on him in this role while Shaw hopefully returns for a strong second half of the tournament.

Midfield: Rice, Bellingham, Foden

The biggest debate for England has undoubtedly been around the midfield 3 as the choices made will determine how positive England are viewed, how attacking they are setting themselves up to be, and the creation of the attacking dream team packed with young exciting potential at Southgate’s disposal. With a likely choice of either Mainoo/Alexander-Arnold, Rice and Bellingham forcing Foden on the wing, I actually believe that Southgate will start the tournament with a more front-footed start of Rice, Bellingham, Foden in the midfield allowing for more attacking firepower in the forward line.

At the base of the midfield, Declan Rice is a certainty, and the only question around Rice is what job he will be given. With many believing that restricting him as a no.6 limits his creativity, I would perhaps imagine the players in front might have enough to just give Rice the more defensive responsibility which could change as the game develops and substitutions are made.

Playing in the no.8 role, I really think it would be great to see Bellingham start, to allow for a bit of an attacking experiment to start the tournament. With enough time to test out this role for the Bellingham in the midfield, it can be quickly changed and adjusted if it creates an imbalanced midfield, however I think it would be the sensible choice for Southgate to prevent criticism by leaving out any of the attacking choices. For Madrid, Bellingham has been more attacking for a large part of the campaign, but has at times been marked out of the game, so pushing him slightly further back, it stretches the opposition to either stick with a man-marking tactic or switch the focus to Foden, or alternatively change their defensive setup. Where Bellingham has often been marked out of things, I think allowing him to pick up the ball deeper will also benefit the player who always wants to be involved. To keep the front line all content and in position, having Bellingham play provider would create some huge opportunities for the players in front.

If England manage to get a dominant lead or feel under pressure, I could see Bellingham stepping up into the 10 and push Foden wide to bring in one of either Kobbie Mainoo or Trent Alexander-Arnold, who have both performed well for England in recent games. They both offer a defensive switch but are confident in starting attacks and taking the ball from defence to attack. I think these 2 will feature more later in the group when England have settled and hopefully qualified comfortably, and especially in games where England may have less of the ball which will likely occur in the knockout stages.

Because of Bellingham dropping slightly deeper, I think Foden will fill in as the no.10. I wasn’t sure if Foden or Palmer would be deployed in the 10 position, but I think Southgate will try and get the best from Foden in the middle, and at some point switch with Palmer to go out left and again keep the defence thinking. Foden has openly expressed his desire to play in the middle, and although this puts Palmer slightly out of his usual preferred role, Foden has been the standout from the last season and deserves a run through the middle. With Foden also used to playing for his club against sides who sit back and force the attack to break down a tricky defensive unit, I think it makes sense to keep him as the focal point through the middle, as I imagine Serbia will look to sit back for large periods and make England break them down.

Forward: Saka, Kane, Palmer

With the very first name on the team sheet in Harry Kane, a certainty to start the tournament and lead the line for England in the competition, the previously mentioned midfield allows for the debate to be put to bed either side of the talismanic forward. Saka and Palmer have had stellar domestic campaigns despite their respective sides failing to claim any major silverware in the latest season.

Not only do England possess 57 goals and 35 assists in the midfield, but this potential front-line adds an extra 91 goals and 41 assists in 2023/2024 for the front 3 of Saka-Kane-Palmer. With attacking talent that have dominated across Europe this latest season, the firepower at Southgate’s disposal will surely strike fear into any opposition.

Harry Kane is a sure-fire starter throughout, unless the opportunity to rotate allows. Despite picking up a knock in the end of the domestic season, he has returned to international duty hungry to perform in the home of his new club and will put aside any mental hangover from the World Cup 2022 penalty miss to surely step up when his country needs him at spot-kick opportunities, and potentially come the final he could be lifting the trophy for England.

On the right hand side, Saka seems to be the preferred selection under Southgate, and although there have been questions over the impressive season for Palmer, I think Southgate would most likely choose to start with the Arsenal man on the right, and look for alternative options to fit it the other attacking options. Potentially using Bowen as the rotation, there is also flexibility for a few others to slot in if required but I think Saka is the most likely based on Southgate’s previous choices.

On the left is where most people have found difficulty, simply because of England’s choices available. Foden, Palmer, Gordon and Grealish could all put some form of case forward for starting on the left for England, however with Foden sitting in the 10 role in this setup, I think Palmer has to be used out on the left ahead of the others. While this isn’t his preferred option, I think he could adjust well to this and also interchange with Foden on occasion or step in when Kane drops off to allow for a flexible forward line. Additionally, Palmer will likely benefit with the left back of Trippier (and later Shaw depending on fitness) for overlapping runs allowing him to come inside more frequently. This feels like the starting setup but throughout the roles and exact positions will likely change.

I believe this formation for the opening game allows England to lay down an attacking marker and prevent any potential slip-ups in the opening fixture. I think it balances the reliability and consistency Southgate often looks for, flexibility to change either where players are on the pitch, or with the substitutes left available to be the difference makers if England are struggling to break down the opposition, or need to solidify to hold on to a lead late in the game. It allows all the key attacking players to feature which will appease fans and while I wouldn’t be as certain for the midfield in a game against traditionally tougher opposition later in the tournament, this feels like a strong starting setup for the first outing.