Euro 2024 column - Can under-par England expect to win?

England view – Dan Barnes.

Cole Palmer showed glimpses of what he can offer England after coming off the bench against Slovenia, and I think he deserves more opportunities.

There were a few eyebrows raised when Palmer left Manchester City for Chelsea last summer but he enjoyed a brilliant season at Stamford Bridge despite the chaos that was going on around him at times.

The youngster finished second in the Golden Boot race, above the likes of Alexander Isak, Ollie Watkins and Phil Foden. Only Erling Haaland could beat his tally of 22 in the league as Manchester City secured a fourth successive title.

Palmer provided energy on the right flank after replacing Bukayo Saka for the final 20 minutes against Slovenia as Gareth Southgate’s side looked to break the deadlock in another dull affair.

He had a decent chance late on but failed to really test Jan Oblak with a left-footed strike after some clever play by Harry Kane.

The 22-year-old will probably feel he should have done better on that occasion, but he has proven over the past 12 months he certainly knows where the net is.

Palmer will only get better with game time and I think Southgate has missed a trick by waiting until the final group game to throw him into the mix.

I understand wanting to start Saka – he was probably England’s best player at the World Cup a couple of years ago and had a big impact against Serbia, along with Jude Bellingham.

Ian Wright suggested after the final whistle that the Arsenal talent could be moved to left-back, a role he has some experience in, to give Palmer a chance in the starting line-up.

“He's looking to get it into you, any time he gets on the ball,” Wright said as an ITV pundit. “He's looking to progress it, play it forward, play one twos, he's a progressive player.

“I saw a stat about Kieran Trippier being our second most productive player, touches and passes. I'm thinking, how are we going to get Palmer into the team if that's the case?

“With how naturally left-sided Saka is, could you maybe put Saka at left back and put Palmer on the right? Simply because we need to get some balance and fluidity in the game.”

That idea might solve England’s left-back issue, with Kieran Trippier playing on his wrong foot while Luke Shaw is out injured. It would certainly be a risk from a defensive point of view, though, especially now the group stage has been concluded.

Southgate has some tough calls to make ahead of the first knockout round, but it would be a crying shame if Palmer is forced to watch from the sidelines. He could be a big player for the Three Lions for many years to come.

Can England find another way without Kieran Trippier on the left? (Image: PA)

England View - Elliott Jackson

Watching Kieran Trippier for England on Sunday night made me want to pull my hair out. Surely there has to be another way?

Left-back has been a hot topic for the Three Lions with Luke Shaw becoming less likely by the day to feature. It seems that I am as likely to represent my country at the European Championship than the Manchester United defender.

Not calling up an alternative left-footed left-back felt risky at the time and is now bordering on negligent. That's on Gareth Southgate.

I feel sorry for Trippier. He is a capable right-back, albeit his form in 2024 has hardly been sparkling. But he is a bollard to England in possession at the moment.

The Newcastle United man is 'doing a job for the team' but he's actually a massive constraint. We've seen that for three games now, with England unable to break down Slovenia in the latest drab offering.

There has to be an alternative. I'm not sure putting one of the world's best right-wingers, Bukayo Saka, as a left-back or wing-back is the answer, though that option is becoming more appealing every day.

What could be an option is playing Kyle Walker and Trent Alexander-Arnold as the full-backs. It's clear the experiment, which saw the Liverpool man start the first two group games, is over.

But Walker offered Egland very little in an offensive sense already. He may as well play at left-back then? Alexander-Arnold has brilliant passing range and is a creative player which could help England's stale possession.

We did see that for the final 10 minutes against Slovenia. I'm hardly going to cast huge judgements from that but anything has to be better than the current set-up.

Walker has never played left-back and I wouldn't be averse to Alexander-Arnold giving it a go either. He could drift into midfield, with Marc Guehi more than quick enough to cover the spaces down the left channel in transition.

Do I have confidence we'll see those two at full-back again? No. But at least that 10 minutes shows that the idea has entered Southgate's consciousness.

Gareth Southgate offers some consolation for Phil Foden as they walk off the pitch in Cologne (Image: PA)

England View – Marc Iles

Without wanting to be buried under thousands of half-full plastic pint glasses, should we at least wait until England have lost a game at the Euros before suffering a major malfunction?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully in the Gary Lineker camp when it comes to describing how Gareth Southgate’s team has played in the first three games. It has been slow, ponderous, and Tuesday night’s game against Slovenia was probably the first time I’d looked forward to an advert break on ITV since Melanie Sykes stopped doing the Boddingtons adverts.

But whether you like how they got there, or hated it, it WAS a job done. England are in the favourable half of the draw and don’t have to worry about being torn apart by France, Portugal, Spain or Germany, for the time being.

Thinking back to England’s finest tournaments of my youth – Mexico 86, Italia 90, Euro 96 – all of them started terribly, yet 30-40 years later we sit and eulogise over how unfortunate we were not to have lifted the trophy.

History is littered with examples of teams who did not play the best football, did not necessarily have the top stars, but who produced enough at each given stage to get them through.

Southgate needs a spark from somewhere, a moment that gets the country believing again. But mark my words, if it happens in the round of 16, sales of plastic bowler hats and bunting will go through the roof again in Sainsbury’s.

I reserve my right to moan and groan whilst they do it, but England have my blessing to bodge their way through to Berlin if that is what is necessary. I don’t want any more heroic failures, I’m done with controversies and conspiracies, let’s just ‘Greece’ Euro 2024 and leave Team GB’s gymnasts to worry about points for style.