{"id":35957,"date":"2021-01-27T11:45:50","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T11:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/?p=35957"},"modified":"2021-03-02T11:22:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T11:22:46","slug":"england-midfielders-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/england-midfielders-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Which England midfielders could play in Euro 2020?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gareth Southgate had little choice but to adopt a counter-attacking style for the 2018 World Cup. England just didn\u2019t have the players to control a game against the strongest opponents and this was exposed in the semi-final defeat to Croatia when the Three Lions had their roar muffled by the masterful Luka Modric. A lot has changed since then. While England still lack a creative force of Modric\u2019s calibre, Southgate is now awash with options in that position. The Covid-19 pandemic has fractured their preparations for Euro 2020<\/a>, and so some integration is still required, but England and their midfielders should have no problem in controlling a major tournament match.<\/p>\n

After years of hype, Phil Foden has finally flourished into a key figure<\/a> for Manchester City this season with the 20-year-old stepping into the void left by David Silva at the Etihad Stadium. With 11 goals and four assists in 33 games, Foden has been an integral part of City’s title charge in the 2020\/21 campaign and is getting better with every game he plays.<\/p>\n

Jack Grealish is seen primarily as a winger by Southgate, but he too is capable of controlling and creating through the midfield. The 25-year-old has been so impressive for Aston Villa this season he might well be an early candidate for Player of the Year<\/a> along with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias and Harry Kane. That\u2019s the level Grealish is operating at.<\/p>\n

James Maddison is another who has lifted his game this season, with his eight league goals for Leicester City already his best tally in the Premier League with a third of the season still to go. The 24-year-old is one of the midfielders who would give England significant goal threat in a roaming number 10 role behind the central striker and has the intelligence to quickly adapt to whatever system Southgate has devised for Euro 2020.<\/p>\n

Mason Mount might not be considered as naturally talented as Foden, Grealish or even Maddison, but he has been a rare success story in a difficult season for Chelsea. Indeed, the 22-year-old was one of Frank Lampard\u2019s first names on the team sheet, to the point of derision, but Mount has remained a Chelsea regular under Thomas Tuchel.<\/p>\n

All four of these players are slightly different from the other. As referenced, Grealish is more of a wide man even though he can operate centrally. Foden is a conductor, even if he has an eye for goal, while Maddison might consider himself a finisher having recently spoken about his desire to lift his final third numbers.<\/p>\n

Mount is most comfortable in something close to a number eight role in the centre of the pitch. It\u2019s possible that he could play in the same team as Foden, Grealish or Maddison, but the Chelsea midfielder\u2019s recent form only adds to the selection headache Southgate is surely feeling ahead of the summer.<\/p>\n

England must back themselves in games against the biggest and best countries at the European Championships. There is no need for the Three Lions to feel inferior such is the depth of their options right now. In almost every position, Southgate\u2019s options will be greater during Euro 2020 than they were three years ago at the World Cup and this is best reflected in the way the midfielders, once a weakness for England, have become a strength.<\/p>\n

In Russia in 2018, Southgate\u2019s hand was forced. England had to play the way they did because of the limitations of their talent pool. Now, that talent pool is much deeper. If Southgate once again adopts a counter-attacking style, it won\u2019t be because he lacks the players to be more proactive. Instead, that will be on him. Southgate mustn\u2019t waste the midfield talent he now has.<\/p>\n

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You could earn up to \u00a3100 (or currency equivalent) in bonus funds by joining Colossus with our New Player Bonus.\u00a0Click here to join the action.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gareth Southgate had little choice but to adopt a counter-attacking style for the 2018 World Cup. England just didn\u2019t have the players to control a game against the strongest opponents and this was exposed in the semi-final defeat to Croatia when the Three Lions had their roar muffled by the masterful Luka Modric.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[609,272],"class_list":["post-35957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport","tag-euro-2020","tag-featurehome"],"yoast_head":"\nWhich England midfielders could play in Euro 2020? - Colossus Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The English midfield was limited in the 2018 World Cup but Gareth Southgate has a wealth of midfielders to pick for England for Euro 2020.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/england-midfielders-2020\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Which England midfielders could play in Euro 2020?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The English midfield was limited in the 2018 World Cup but Gareth Southgate has a wealth of midfielders to pick for England for Euro 2020.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/england-midfielders-2020\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colossus Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SportsBigger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-27T11:45:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-02T11:22:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/GettyImages-1285339432-scaled-e1611747779105.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Graham Ruthven\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/grahamruthven\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ColossusBets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Graham Ruthven\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/england-midfielders-2020\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/england-midfielders-2020\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Graham Ruthven\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ccfb389143742c8479016f5471c9f4f2\"},\"headline\":\"Which England midfielders could play in Euro 2020?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-27T11:45:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-02T11:22:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/england-midfielders-2020\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":661,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Euro 2020\",\"FeatureHome\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2021\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/england-midfielders-2020\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/england-midfielders-2020\\\/\",\"name\":\"Which England midfielders could play in Euro 2020? 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