Total Football Analysis sat down with Teddy Sheringham in association with Poker Sites to discuss the key tactical points following England’s 1-0 win over Serbia on Sunday.
TFA: What did you think of the Stones and Guehi partnership?
TS: I don’t think it’s easy to get centre-half partnerships working together – and they wouldn’t have had a lot of time playing together before Sunday’s match – but they both stood strong at times. I thought Marc Guehi was very good and so was John Stones – as a partnership they stood strong together and I was quietly pleased with them, considering there was a lot of question marks about them before the game. I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t the centre-back partnership for the rest of the tournament – that’s obviously Gareth Southgate’s favoured two.
TFA: What issues could there be if Trippier has to stay LB – and is that affecting how Foden plays?
TS: I thought Phil Foden did alright. Every time he got the ball he got battered – there should have been more bookings to give players more space last night. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Foden were all getting battered trying to take the game to the opposition, getting whacked over and bodychecked – it takes a lot out of you! They’re still striving to go forward for us and I think the criticism has been harsh for a lot of the players.
TFA: What do you make of the chemistry between the two on the left hand side?
TS: I don’t really like Kieran Tripper playing left back and I don’t like Phil Foden playing left wing – so you’ve got square pegs in round holes, for me. You’ve then got Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield – which is another square peg in a round hole – so you end up like a performance like we did. It was a little bit scrappy, but we nicked the win – so all is ok!
TFA: Are Foden and Bellingham in danger of becoming the modern Gerrard and Lampard conundrum?
TS: No – not at all! I think ideally, Declan Rice, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham should be our midfield three. Both Phil and Jude like to get forward and feed players, and they can both defend. I think they’re perfect to play together in front of Declan Rice. Southgate is however playing one of them as a winger – which isn’t ideal – so the problem is finding a left sided player who can do a better job than Foden out there.
TFA: What can Southgate do tactically to get both firing in the same team at the same time?
TS: I wouldn’t have two sitting midfielders, especially in these early games. I think Rice is clever enough, strong enough and quick enough to do that position on his own – I don’t think he needs another sitter in there. That allows having two players in front of him rather than one – that would allow Bellingham and Foden to alternate, to get past Harry Kane, to come short, to join in and do everything. However you’d need someone to play wide left instead of Foden, so maybe Anthony Gordon would be the man for that, just to stretch the defence and have the awareness and pace to get in behind and push the opposition’s defence back.
