Ashley Cole told ITV during their live coverage of England’s World Cup qualifiers that West Ham and Leeds duo, Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips, need to ‘play forward’ a lot more.
Gareth Southgate opted to play the defensive-minded duo in a midfield three as England recorded all three points against Albania on Sunday.
It was the quick-thinker and light-footed, Mason Mount, who played alongside the Leeds and West Ham stars in England’s midfield.
But former Premier League left-back, Cole, thinks Southgate has ‘a few things to take’ from their win in Tirana, including how their midfield operates.
“You need to look to play forward, first and foremost,” said Cole. “Will they stay with the two holding in Rice and Phillips?
“I would like to see one more advanced. One sit and get the other one to get in between the lines and look to play forward a lot quicker.
“I think there will be a few key things that Gareth will take from this game. In terms of how he operates the midfield. But it’s going to be a different animal on Wednesday (against Poland).”
A lot has been made about how Southgate sets up his team and how he is too defensive-minded even though he has an abundance of attacking talent.
Many would argue that he only needs one of Rice or Phillips to play the holding role for the Three Lions, which would then open up the option to play an extra creative player, such as Jack Grealish in the side.
Against the top nations, not many are going to argue about a more defensive set-up, but doing that against the so-called lesser nations is drawing criticism from fans.
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