‘Leaked’ England XI shows major formation change with Jack Grealish benched

Don’t wait around for updates – sign up for our daily football email newsletter today!

England’s leaked starting line-up ahead of the crucial Euro 2020 tie against Germany overlooks fan favourite Jack Grealish.

The Three Lions face old rivals Germany once more in the last-16 but manager Gareth Southgate is believed to be planning a return to the 5-2-3 which propelled England to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.

Telegraph Sport reports Southgate will look to match up the Germans’ formation in order to nullify the threat of Joshua Kimmich and Robin Gosens in the wing-back positions.

However, doing so will mean leaving out a midfielder which is likely to be Aston Villa maestro Grealish, who provided the pivotal assist in the recent 1-0 win over Czech Republic.

This comes after Southgate opted for a 4-2-3-1 in all three of England’s group stage matches, with Grealish occupying the number 10 role in the previous fixture.

Southgate is expected to select a back-three of Harry Maguire, John Stones and Kyle Walker, while Luke Shaw and Kieran Trippier are set to offer the width.

West Ham captain Declan Rice and Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillps will resume their partnership in the base of the midfield after a series of solid but reserved performances.

The most controversial change will come with Phil Foden’s reintroduction into the starting line-up after the Manchester City playmaker was rested in the final group stage match.

Do you think dropping Grealish for Foden is the wrong move by Southgate? Let us know in the comments section.

Bukayo Saka and Grealish’s directness was a breath of fresh air against the Czechs but both will likely be dropped for Foden and Raheem Sterling, who has scored both of England’s goals in the competition.

England have struggled to create chances in the tournament in favour of defensive solidity and are yet to a concede a goal, but the move to a back-five will only trigger more criticism of ‘boring England’.

However, a solid defensive base with Kyle Walker keeping tabs on Germany’s pacey forwards will give Southgate’ men a fighting chance to correct past heartbreak against the rivals, most notably at Italia ‘90, Euro ’96 and the 2010 World Cup.

• Gareth Southgate
• Harry Maguire
• Raheem Sterling
• Euro 2020
• England Football Team

Source: Read Full Article