Jesse Lingard was England’s creator in chief at the
World Cup in 2018. Who should take his place this time around?
By Martin Laurence for WhoScored
While the FA work out whether
England will play their scheduled friendlies against
Italy and Denmark later this month – or in the continent-wide Euro 2020 in the summer – Gareth Southgate faces a few big decisions of his own. The England manager is sweating on the fitness of forwards Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford, but he has no such concerns when it comes to attacking midfielders. Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard started for England in the World Cup semi-final in 2018, but Alli is clinging on to his place in the squad and Lingard will almost certainly miss out. Southgate is facing a conundrum: who should come into the squad and who should start in that slot behind the forwards?