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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Richard Jolly

Gareth Southgate looks to prize versatility over speciality with Ezri Konsa a big winner for England

Getty Images

Ezri Konsa’s third position of the night was his first-choice role. He ended up at centre-back. He started off at right-back, while the two specialist right-backs in the England side, Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold, played on the left and in midfield respectively. When Konsa went forward at set-pieces, he earned a penalty that Cole Palmer scored, inadvertently denied Jarrod Bowen a goal and instead led to Harry Kane finding the net. And yet the most significant post of Konsa’s evening was another altogether, one where he is rarely seen: left-back.

Not because vast amounts happened to the Aston Villa defender in his 11-minute stint there. Simply the fact he moved there indicated an importance in Gareth Southgate’s planning.

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