ALAN SHEARER has had his say on England’s team selection for the Euro 2024 final this Sunday.
The Three Lions will face Spain in Berlin this weekend as they look to go one step further than their 2021 heartbreak and lift the trophy in Germany.
With Gareth Southgate tinkering with his formation and his starting 11 throughout the tournament, Shearer has given his thoughts on how England should set up for the nerve-racking clash.
The 63-time England international has explained that he would make just one personnel change to face the Spaniards and would opt to keep playing with a back three.
Southgate has fielded three centre-backs and two wing-backs in England’s last two games against the Netherlands and Switzerland, which has seen the brave Lions play their best football of the tournament.
But with Kieran Trippier being used as the left wing-back from the start in both those ties, Shearer has explained how he would look to drop the Newcastle defender and play Luke Shaw from the off instead.
Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, he said that Southgate will “probably go in with the same formation”.
Adding: “It wouldn’t surprise me if he put Luke Shaw in from the start and then kept everything else the same.”
Shaw missed the start of the tournament through injury, but has looked sharp off the bench in the last two games.
The Man Utd full-back came on at half-time against the Netherlands, perhaps hinting at Southgate’s intentions for the final.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
However, Gary Lineker has raised concerns over playing three at the back for Sunday’s game, suggesting that Spain‘s threat on the wings could take advantage of the formation.
He said: “I suppose what might be more difficult against Spain, because Spain play the two wingers, is whether they trap England’s two wing-backs deeper than normal.
By Charlie Wyett
AND we all thought England had just the one generational talent.
Kobbie Mainoo was effectively brought to Germany as a work experience kid but has emerged as the key kid behind this country’s attempt to rewrite history.
After just five senior starts, England’s new boy wonder will now have a teenage tear-up against Spain’s Lamine Yamal in the Euro 2024 final.
Last night, he did not merely become England’s youngest ever player to feature in a semi-final of a major tournament, aged 19 years and 82 days.
Here, he took this semi-final by the scruff of the neck, delivered a performance which was a joy to watch, particularly in the first half, and now England are in their first final on foreign soil.
If Jude Bellingham thought he was certain to be England’s main posterboy over the next decade, he has someone else who has now emerged in his rear-view mirror within just a few weeks.
To bag an FA Cup winners’ medal at the age of 19 was impressive. To then win Euro 2024 a couple of months later would be extraordinary.
As we saw with Manchester United, Mainoo has now fitted seamlessly into the team and provided a perfect mix of both style and substance.
Give it a couple of years, and you can only imagine how good this lad is going to be.
For much of this tournament, the focus has been on the disappointing form of Harry Kane, Bellingham and Phil Foden.
So Mainoo, to a degree, had almost been off the radar. But against the Dutch, in tight, congested spaces, he is a class apart.
When he was put under pressure, remained cool, navigated his way out of difficult situations and drove forward.
Despite what was at stake, Mainoo once again looked extraordinarily composed and was England’s best player in the first half. He won possession, he rode tackles and he drove forward like an old master.
He nearly delivered an assist at 1-1 with some brilliant play. He received the ball from Foden, turned and drove forward before returning the ball to his team-mate but the shot was hacked off the line by Denzel Dumfries.
Mainoo delivered a terrific block to snuff out some serious danger in a lightning-quick Dutch counter attack.
In the second half, he had less space in midfield but nevertheless still had bags of energy and kept his discipline positionally – and then he let subs Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins deliver the business.
It is still mind-boggling that Mainoo is now heading to Berlin on Sunday, when you consider Mainoo only made his United debut against Charlton in the Carabao Cup in January 2023. His first Premier League start was just eight months ago.
Yet it was his dazzling midfield form in an otherwise dysfunctional United team which earned him his first cap as a substitute against Brazil in March. He was then Man of the Match in a ridiculously-good performance in the 2-2 draw with Belgium.
Mainoo’s form dipped in the last few weeks of the season. It was probably because he was knackered carrying some of his team-mates.
But he then saved them again in the FA Cup final against Manchester City with a Man of the Match performance in a 2-1 win.
A bit like Adam Wharton, he was part of England’s 26-man squad to soak up the experience, to learn what it is like to feature in a major tournament and maybe, if needed, to have a few cameo roles off the bench.
And the fact he was effectively Southgate’s third-choice to partner Declan Rice here in Germany tells you exactly where he stood in a squad of 26.
The Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield failed in the two opening games against Serbia and Denmark. Conor Gallagher – despite some bright performances as a sub in those games – really struggled in his start against Slovenia.
Apart from a strong appearance as a substitute by Palmer, Mainoo’s performance against Slovakia was the only bright spot in a dismal and extremely fortunate win over Slovakia in the last 16.
There was always a worry about Mainoo’s movement when England do not have possession but that will come with experience, like it would for any other central midfielder.
Yet Mainoo has solved the problem for Southgate and now England can continue to dream big. And it is totally unthinkable from where you consider how they played in the group stages when they stunk out Germany.
In Sunday’s final, England’s experienced players will be able to draw on the pain of both the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020.
For Mainoo, this will be a completely new experience but do not expect him to wilt. He’ll absolutely love it.
“And whether we take the chance on playing high and the chance on leaving them. It’ll be a little bit bluff and double-bluff.”
Spain’s wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams have been two of the standout performers during Euro 2024.
But regardless of their form in Germany, Shearer still thinks that the back five is the right formation for England this weekend.
He rebutted: “That is a huge strength in what they’ve got in Yamal and Williams on either side.
“Yamal loves to come inside on his left foot, that’s what we wants to do, there are not many times where he goes on the outside on the right.
“So if that’s going to happen, and you are going to play to play three at the back which I think he may do, he should run into traffic which hopefully might work to England’s benefit.”
Between them Yamal and Williams have racked up six goal contributions at the tournament so far.
But England need to focus on their own personnel as well as worrying about Spain’s stars.
Shearer has suggested just one change for the starting line-up, but other fans and pundits are calling for more tinkering ahead of the final.
Ollie Watkins’ stunning 90th minute winner on Wednesday has seen plenty of fans clamouring for him to start on Sunday.
And not only do they want the Aston Villa striker to start, but some are even calling for him to replace captain Harry Kane in the starting line-up.
AFTER what has been a tough tournament of times, what an opportunity Gareth Southgate and his team will have to end in the best possible way, writes Jack Wilshere.
We might like a team that played better football. But it’s a results business.
Germany, Italy, France, Portugal and of course Holland would love to be where we are.
People will say we’re lucky because we’re on this side of the draw.
But we won the group. France didn’t and then ran into Spain.
You can say it wasn’t that pretty, but we’re there.
Gareth and his coaches won’t have been happy with some of the performances.
But I did like the way Gareth and his team have dealt with it.
There was no panic coming out of the camp.
Everyone gave the same message: ‘We know we can better, but we’re here still.’
And on Sunday they will be in Berlin to play Spain.
They will probably have to produce two halves of football as good as the first against Holland to beat them.
We have improved as the tournament has gone on and that is how you win things.
You want to peak in the final.
If Gareth can lead England to that major trophy we’ve all been waiting for, it will be the perfect answer to the critics and a brilliant day for us all.
Read Jack Wilshere’s England vs Holland verdict in full.
Or check out all of SunSport columnist Jack’s Euros 2024 opinions…
