by Whore Jackie »
14 Jul 2021 12:36
Think Dele Alli and Loftus-Cheek are the biggest disappointments since the WC. You may also have hoped Butland would have pushed on, but he seemed on a downward trajectory even then.
Interesting that of those that started in the SF against Croatia, 7 started against Italy. Of the other 4, Henderson came on, Young's now past it, Lingard a little unlucky not to make the squad this time and Alli, totally out of favour and nowhere near.
Mount, Rice, Shaw and Phillips were arguably minor improvements to the team and the squad as a whole was much stronger. Only Rashford (and Trent and Pope, but both withdrew pre-Euros) from that WC squad, made this one, which goes to show how quickly things can change. If I were Southgate, I'd be genuinely excited about the next WC, but there'll need to be some fundamental replacements to the team spine for the next Euros.