For the first time in a long time, England are one of the big favorites to win a major international tournament. And the expectations are justified, but with a squad filled with youth, will the Three Lions be able to put it all together?

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My video notes ⬇️

The Squad
- very talented squad and very young squad... one of the youngest at the EUROs
- Phil Foden (21), Jadon Sancho (21), Trent Alexander-Arnold (22), Jude Bellingham (17), Mason Mount (22), Bukayo Saka (19)
- new wave of young English talent looking to make an impact
- no more Rooney, Sturridge, Barkley, Young
- biggest strength is in attack
- Harry Kane leading the lines but will tuck into the halfspaces and sometimes even deeper
- Plethora of talent around him - Jadon Sancho? Raheem Sterling? Phil Foden? DLC? Jack Grealish? Marcus Rashford?
- biggest decision that Southgate will have to make is how he lines up his attack
- Can play with Kane and DLC with a no. 10, can play Foden - Kane - Sancho, Sterling can line up on the right, where does Rashford go?
- most important player in the team will be Declan Rice (x-factor player)
- tactical flexibility - allows other midfielders to get forward and be creative, can give fullbacks freedom to attack in a 4-back, can allow Kyle Walker to get more forward as the third centreback
- Mason Mount should also be a lock in the team
- chemistry with Rice, Chelsea's chief creator and Player of the Season
- can create down the left side and allow Rashford or Foden to tuck in more centrally
- Plenty of ways to build the midfield around them - Bellingham, Grealish, fullbacks as wide midfielders in a 3-4-3
- most of the defense picks itself when healthy
- Luke Shaw, John Stones, Harry Maguire, but who plays right back?
- Could be TAA, James, Trippier, Walker
- unlucky break in goal - Pope would've been the starter but he needs surgery
- Henderson or Pickford?
- Henderson may be the better keeper, but Pickford has the experience
The Manager
- so let's talk about the man in charge, it is of course Gareth Southgate... took over the English national team in September 2016 following Sam Allardyce stepping down.
- He's overseen much of this revolution of new talent, but this is the first time he's fully tapping into it - his World Cup 2018 squad was quite old (Ashley Young, Gary Cahill, Fabian Delph, Jordan Henderson)
- Did include some young players though... TAA, Dele, Rashford, Loftus-Cheek were all in the team
- Finished 4th in the 2018 World Cup in his first major tournament, then guided England to a third place finish in the inaugural UEFA Nations League...topped a group with Spain and Croatia
- preferred shape is a 3-4-2-1, but recently switched to a 4-2-3-1 due to England's new attacking talent. How could that look? (including 4-3-3 example)
The Group
- Competing in Group D with Croatia, Czech Republic, and Scotland
- should be a lock to finish in the top 2, but the World Cup semifinal rematch against Croatia could determine the group winner
- Also a tasty bragging rights match between England and Scotland
- I like England not just to advance, but to win the group (-250, +500 to win the tournament)
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