The Premier League season is over, which in the year 2022 means that most players now have zero time to breathe as the UEFA Nations League prepares to kick off for another year, with England set to play some huge fixtures.
Germany and Italy are on the horizon for the Three Lions, and Gareth Southgate has now named his squad for the June fixtures, with the England manager not straying too far into the realm of controversial selections, with the only real outcry coming from Tottenham supporters over Eric Dier’s omission and James Maddison once again missing out.
With an exciting 26-man squad that includes some fairly interesting possibilities, we at HITC Sport take a look at what England’s main XI for the Nations League will look like for this slate of fixtures, as well as who would be included in a backup starting line-up for the Euro 2020 finalists.
Harry Maguire keeps his starting spot as Fikayo Tomori joins the defence
England have one of their most exciting generations ever coming through under Southgate’s watch, however, knowing the Three Lions boss, we pretty much know who will start in the main XI, which means Manchester United’s slapstick comedian of the season Harry Maguire starting in a three-man defence alongside Manchester City star John Stones.
Unlike other backlines, though, newly-crowned Serie A champion Fikayo Tomori is included in our XI, with the defender simply too good to be demoted to the reserves given his incredible year in Italy with AC Milan.
As for the remainder of the squad, we can safely bet who will make up the remaining places, with Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips reuniting to form their reliable central midfield partnership as Bukayo Saka and Trent Alexander-Arnold (more on that later) start on the wings, with Harry Kane spearheading the attack alongside Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling.
Jarrod Bowen and James Justin start as Tammy Abraham leads the line
England as an international side are fairly predictable when it comes to their main XI, but as for a backup side, this is where we can start having some fun and begin experimenting with the personnel and the system as a whole.
In our new-look 4-3-3 formation, Aaron Ramsdale commends the sticks whilst his Arsenal teammate Ben White starts in defence alongside Marc Guehi, a centre-back pairing that could be seen quite frequently in the future for the Three Lions.
To cap off the backline, Three Lions debutant James Justin slots in at left-back whilst Reece James takes the right-back position, with Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker completely missing out in both XIs, though this is largely due to their recent returns from injury.
The central midfield is also quite a fun one, with Jude Bellingham, who should, in reality, be in the main XI, starting alongside Chelsea duo Conor Gallagher and Mason Mount, who have both enjoyed phenomenal seasons in the Premier League this campaign ahead of their reunion at the Blues this summer.
For the attack, England’s Euro 2020 breakout star Jack Grealish starts on the left whilst Tammy Abraham, who has been the Three Lions-highest scoring player in Europe’s top-five leagues this season, replaces Kane, with another newbie in Jarrod Bowen taking the right-wing spot after the attacker’s sensational year with West Ham.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
