Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has named the England starting eleven that he would like Gareth Southgate to name at the World Cup this winter.
The Three Lions cruised through the qualification process for Qatar and will be hoping to go one better than their Euro 2020 final defeat and lift the trophy for the first time since 1966. England easily beat Ivory Coast in a friendly on Tuesday night in a game that will have given Southgate plenty of food for thought.
Ollie Watkins, Raheem Sterling and Tyrone Mings were all on the scoresheet in the 3-0 victory, though there were plenty of others who impressed on the night and previously in their 2-1 win over Switzerland at the weekend. Southgate faces a difficult task in picking his best eleven, but Ferdinand has offered his advice.
“I’m gonna go three at the back as I think that’s our best chance. [Harry] Maguire on the left, Kyle Walker central and Reece James on the right,” he said on his Vibe with Five podcast.
“Trent [Alexander-Arnold] at right wing-back and [Luke] Shaw left wing-back. I’m gonna go Declan [Rice] and [Jude] Bellingham (in midfield). Foden in the hole and then two strikers [Raheem] Sterling and [Harry] Kane.” The proposed team prompted his co-host to laugh at the defence, but Ferdinand refused to believe that it would not prove effective.
The Red Devils hero continued: “Reece James coming out with the ball coming into midfield because he can do that, he played midfield as a kid. Trent out on the right. Walker centre, he’s covering the whole backline on his own.
“My midfield, Declan, Jude and Foden dropping in as a No10 and coming back into midfield. Free role for Sterling, he can go where he wants, Kane holding the ball up and running behind.” Kane is likely to be England’s all-time top scorer by the time that the World Cup comes around due to Nations League fixtures throughout the summer and thus he looks likely to lead the team into another tournament.
Sterling has also consistently played well under Southgate and his performances at Euro 2020 were some of the best of his career, with many believing that had England beaten Italy in the final, the City forward would have won the Player of the Tournament.
Bellingham certainly impressed this international break and the Borussia Dortmund midfielder has every chance of displacing Mason Mount in Southgate’s preferred midfield three – assuming he sticks with those tactics for Qatar.
The 18-year-old has been linked with moves to Manchester United and Liverpool of late, and the midfielder is certain to attract even more interest from other European giants if he continues in this rich vein of form. Ferdinand’s decision to field four fullbacks in a five-man defence is not an un-England thing to do and Kyle Walker has been excellent for England in a similar role in previous tournaments, with Luke Shaw also relishing the freedom he has to roam forward in left wingback.
