Harry Maguire England Man United England
Harry Maguire Man United

England take on Ukraine in the quarter-final of the European Championship and according to some reports, the manager could once again change his side’s formation.

Against Germany, England played with a 3-4-3 system to nullify the German attack but as per the latest rumours, Gareth Southgate could be thinking of reverting to a 4-2-3-1 on Saturday.

Sky Sports reports: “Gareth Southgate is considering switching back to a defensive four when England play their Euro 2020 quarter-final against Ukraine in Rome on Saturday.

“A number of selection issues for the match are still to be decided, including the composition of the defence.

“Southgate used three centre-backs for the first time since November when England beat Germany 2-0 in the last 16 at Wembley on Tuesday.”

The 3-4-3 was used primarily to stop the German wing-backs Kimmich and Robin Gosens but against Ukraine, that threat is not there so Southgate can afford to change his system.

Also, by using a traditional back-four, someone like Mason Mount or Jack Grealish can also come into the side as the extra creative midfielder.

Apart from this tactical change, the England boss can also rest some of his regular first-team players as suggested by Jose Mourinho.

“I’m so confident England will beat Ukraine that if I were in charge I would rest both Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips to save them for the semi-final,” Mourinho told The Sun.

 

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“And Gareth Southgate shouldn’t stop there because he should also consider giving Harry Maguire a break so he can be key to the defence for the final week of the tournament.”

Rice, Maguire and Kalvin Phillips are all one yellow card away from getting a one-match suspension so there’s a big chance that Gareth Southgate could rotate his squad on Saturday.

We doubt if Harry Maguire will be pushed to the bench but Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice can both be replaced by Jordan Henderson and Jude Bellingham.

Ukraine are not a really tough team but some people might argue that taking off two in-form defensive midfielders could be a really risky game to play. So, the England boss has to do some intense thinking here.

Read: 3-4-3 England’s predicted starting XI vs Ukraine.

Read: These two England players undoubtedly deserve more respect after the Germany game.

Read: Southgate’s tactics vs Germany hailed as brilliant.

Read: Ukraine vs England – Predictions, Trivia, Venue, Kick-off, Betting Odds.

Read: Pundit makes a really bold prediction after the Three Lions beat Germany.