England take on Germany in the Round of 16 of the European Championship and this will be Gareth Southgate’s first big test in this tournament.
The Three Lions have come into the knockout stages as the group toppers, winning two of their three matches. But, in all honestly, they are yet to hit peak form.
During these three matches, Gareth Southgate used a fairly simple 4-2-3-1 system but according to Jose Mourinho, the England boss could opt for a change in formation on Tuesday.
“I keep saying when you have an option to take 26 players, you have to risk, gamble and take an injured player if the player deserves that,” Mourinho had told talkSPORT last week immediately after the Czech Republic game.
“Maguire is one of those players. He was confident, he was stable, he was intelligent [against the Czech Republic].
“He read the game well and he has a good partnership with Stones. Mings is doing a fantastic job, you could feel he was happy to come in for 10 or 15 minutes, he is a team player.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the next game is against Germany, the way they play with Havertz, Muller and Gnabry, three defenders and two wings backs – I wouldn’t be surprised if England went with three at the back: Stones, Maguire and Mings.
“Yes, they will have an advantage because of Wembley, but pressure because it will be a big opponent.
“If they go to the quarter-finals, this match could be the one which pushes them all the way.”
Will England use a 3-4-2-1 system vs Germany?
Tyrone Mings put in pretty decent shifts during the first two matches but once Maguire was back to full fitness, there was no way Mings was getting a start. But if the England boss does go for a three-man backline then the Villa man should be coming back into the side.
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That would mean Luke Shaw and Reece James will move into the wing-back roles and this could be a bit of a problem for the manager.
Ben Chilwell is more suited in the wing-back role rather than Luke Shaw but right now Chilwell is isolating and will only be back on the matchday itself.
The three-man defensive line also means both the two wingers will have to be sacrificed – if Gareth Southgate wants to use Jack Grealish and Mason Mount. And this will be really unfair to someone like Raheem Sterling since he has been in great nick so far.
All in all, we doubt if the England manager is going to reshuffle his starting line-up against Germany and use a 4-2-3-1 formation since he will have to sacrifice a few of his attacking players in the process and this could eventually make the Three Lions toothless.
Data courtesy TransferMarkt.
