England’s final fixture of 2023 takes the Three Lions to Skopje for their final Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia on Monday.
Across their previous nine matches this calendar year, England are yet to lose, boasting eight wins. A look back at last year’s results highlights the improvement Gareth Southgate has overseen since the Qatar World Cup. In 2022, England won less than half of their 13 matches and suffered defeat on four separate occasions.
Here’s the lineup that Southgate may deploy to end a successful year on a high.
GK: Jordan Pickford – There is little threat to Pickford’s position as England’s number one but there is the faint possibility that Southgate gives one of his understudies a runout on Monday.
RB: Kyle Walker – Ahead of the 2018 World Cup, Walker claimed that it would take “a miracle” for England to win the tournament. Six years, a semi-final and final later, Walker has compared his country to treble-winning Manchester City.
CB: Marc Guehi – A fixture of the Crystal Palace backline that boasts a Premier League-high five clean sheets this season.
CB: Harry Maguire – Last season, Erik ten Hag explained his reticence at fielding Maguire on his unnatural side. “The angles are not good for Harry if he is playing on the left side,” Manchester United’s manager explained. “It’s also difficult for him defending in wide areas on his left foot.” Southgate does not see the same issues.
LB: Rico Lewis – Ahead of the previous Euros, Lewis was skirting around the fringes of Manchester City’s under-18s team. The versatile full-back is now a regular in Pep Guardiola’s squad but still doesn’t turn 19 until later this month.
CM: Trent Alexander-Arnold – If Southgate wants to have a proper look at Alexander-Arnold in midfield, he may as well give him more than one game against the side ranked 171st in the world.
CM: Declan Rice – Denied a sumptuous strike by his offside captain against Malta, Rice will surely be given the chance to register a legitimate goal on Monday.
CM: Kalvin Phillips – Southgate may be inclined to give Phillips some game time to keep him match sharp – there is little chance of any minutes at Manchester City.
RW: Bukayo Saka – The only hat-trick of Saka’s senior career came against North Macedonia in June.
ST: Harry Kane – Bayern Munich’s new talisman has scored in each of his last eight appearances for club and country, gobbling up 15 goals in that period.
LW: Jack Grealish – The affable winger was City’s master of ceremonies while celebrating last season’s treble and has begun taking DJ lessons this year. Yet, it may be some time before DJ Grealo gets on the decks in public. “It’s really hard,” he sighed.
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