Ferdinand says Southgate left out England’s only player who can ‘unlock things’
Rio Ferdinand believes Gareth Southgate left England’s only player who can ‘unlock things’ out of his XI to face Croatia.
Southgate sprung more than a few surprises with his team selection, including the decision to start Kieran Trippier at left-back.
But the Three Lions boss received most criticism for not starting Jack Grealish in one of the three available forward positions.
The Aston Villa star had to be content with a place on the bench as Phil Foden, Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling took up positions behind Harry Kane.
Ferdinand didn’t necessarily disagree with Southgate’s team selection, but he did question the decision not to utilise Grealish from the start.
He said: “I think it's the only thing you can talk about [it's a long competition] with the team selection. He may be saving him for another game and tactically he might suit another game.
“When you look at the last three, four England games, creatively, who have we looked at to get us out of a hole?
“Grealish has been the man that's unlocked things for us and this is now tournament football when you want things like that.
“Yes there's Mount and other players who can do that but Grealish has been the go to guy recently.”
Do you think Jack Grealish should start against Scotland? Let us know in the comments section.
Grealish has drawn plenty of plaudits for his performances against Austria and Romania in England’s two warm-up games and had been tipped to start the opening match against Croatia.
Southgate’s decision to leave Grealish out of the Group C opener could suggest that he is being saved for later on in the tournament.
England beat Croatia 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Raheem Sterling but still have two more tricky fixtures to negotiate before they can start thinking about the round-of-16
The Three Lions take on Scotland at Wembley on Friday before hosting Czech Republic four days later on June 22.
READ MORE: Denmark star Christian Eriksen collapses on pitch as medics perform CPR
READ MORE: How England have performed in European Championship opening games ahead of Croatia clash
Source: Read Full Article