Southgate Sticks with Trusted XI for Euro 2024 Clash with Slovenia
Gareth Southgate is expected to maintain faith in the majority of players who have started England’s first two group games at Euro 2024, with Conor Gallagher set to be the only change as they face Slovenia in Cologne.
“This would mean Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham retaining their places in the starting lineup, despite facing some struggles in the initial two matches.”
As reported by Sky Sports News, Southgate has acknowledged that his experiment with Trent Alexander-Arnold in a central midfield “quarterback” role has not worked, leading to Gallagher’s introduction as a more orthodox number eight.
The Chelsea player came off the bench against Denmark in the 54th minute, but now looks poised to make his first start in a major tournament. There have been calls for Bellingham to be rested due to signs of fatigue, but Southgate is determined to field his strongest possible team to ensure they top the group and avoid a potentially daunting last-16 clash with Germany.
Foden’s much-improved performance against Denmark has seemingly convinced Southgate to resist the temptation of dipping into his wide array of attacking talent, with the likes of Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon yet to feature in Germany. The England manager does plan to make several substitutions against Slovenia in an effort to manage the workload of his key players, though the circumstances of the game will ultimately dictate the extent of these changes.
All 26 players were in training ahead of Tuesday’s encounter, but left-back Luke Shaw will not feature as his rehabilitation from a hamstring issue continues cautiously.
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