England and Germany renew their old rivalry this week when they face off in the Round of 16 of the European Championship.
The Three Lions go into this match at the back of some fine group form, winning two and drawing the other match. And so far, Gareth Southgate’s side are yet to concede a goal.
But this will be the biggest test for England since Germany have scored as many as six goals in their three games, that too in a group which had Portugal and Germany.
And speaking in the build-up to this massive encounter Jurgen Klinsmann has named six English players who could prove to be the point of difference on Tuesday night.
Ex-Germany manager Klinsmann told The Athletic: “You have Raheem Sterling, and you have Mason Mount.
“You have now Saka who played a good game against the Czech Republic. You have Phil Foden, who I really adore – I thought he had a brilliant year with Man City.
“You have Harry Maguire, who kind of frightens everybody when this guy rolls through midfield. He reminds me a bit of Lucio, the Brazilian centre-back – he looks like a Mustang running through everybody.
“And then you have this No 9 killer [Harry Kane] that hasn’t started the tournament yet.”
Harry Maguire returned to the starting line-up in their final group game vs the Czech Republic and it’s safe to say the defender did not put a foot wrong.
Tyrone Mings had been playing in central defence in the absence of Maguire but now that he is back, the Man United is a guaranteed starter alongside John Stones.
The same can be said about the captain Harry Kane who has more or less been shielded by his manager despite his failure to find the back of the net so far in the tournament.
But, players like Sterling, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Mason Mount might not be so lucky.
Mount has not been training with the rest of the squad due to the isolation protocols so there’s a big question mark over his selection on Tuesday. Major reports suggest he is going to be selected in the starting line-up but that will all depend on his fitness and mental strength.
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Also, if Jack Grealish is named in the starting line-up and Mason Mount also comes in then someone like Raheem Sterling could be forced to the bench(or be pushed to the right wing).
Phil Foden was not risked in the Czech Republic game due to fears of him picking up another yellow card. So, it’s safe to assume that Gareth Southgate was saving him for this game.
If that’s the case then young Bukayo Saka could be watching from the bench(which will be really harsh since he was great against the Czech).
There are a lot of ways the England manager can arrange and rearrange his attacking players against Germany and that will depend on the tactics he wishes to employ.
