With another international break down, England duty is on hold again until March which gives Gareth Southgate plenty of time to reflect on what he is building ahead of next summer’s delayed Euros.
A mixed bag of results over this month and growing discontent at his squad selection has left Southgate in a somewhat tricky situation.
Two dominant displays against the Republic of Ireland and Iceland were overshadowed by the 2-0 defeat by Belgium and the Three Lions’ failure to qualify for the latter stages of the UEFA Nations League.
The question now is, with the general mood associated with England considerably worse now than the last time they played in a major tournament, what does Southgate do moving forward?
Southgate opted to play his trusted 3-4-3 formation in each of the November games – however, his team selection again drew criticism from fans for being too defensive.
In what essentially became a five-man defence guarded by two holding midfielders, England lacked a cutting edge against Belgium and it showed as they mustered just three shots on target all game and failed to score.
However, against both the Republic of Ireland and Iceland their flair players shone through with the likes of Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho all impressing.
This suggests that against the smaller sides, England thrive and Southgate’s tactics can be very effective but when it comes to the crunch games against the better nations things tend to fall apart.
Moving forward, Southgate has a lot to consider when it comes to getting his squad selections right and taking the side as far as it can possibly go.
The goalkeeping conundrum is a tricky one, with Jordan Pickford seriously under-performing yet there is no genuine standout replacement for him.
Having already been dropped by Everton once this season, and with Nick Pope as well as Dean Henderson getting some minutes against the Republic of Ireland, Pickford needs to drastically improve his form over the rest of the season.
Henderson could come into the fray, although he has only played a handful of times for Manchester United this season.
Looking at the defence, Southgate again has a huge pool of players to choose from both young and old, yet still persists with playing Kyle Walker out of position on the right of a back three.
He seems to have settled with him, Harry Maguire and then either Eric Dier or Tyrone Mings to fill the back three.
While this is a balanced backline, there are plenty of players who could come in and improve it.
For example, using Conor Coady in the middle of the back three could work as he has played every minute of the last few seasons there for Wolves.
At the left wing-back spot, Ben Chilwell looks set to battle it out with Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka for a starting place which is not a bad problem to have.
When it comes to the right-hand side, you could pick a full XI of full-backs if you wanted to.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has fantastic ability yet does not seem to quite fit Southgate’s system as well as the likes of Kieran Trippier or Reece James do.
Then when you consider players like Tariq Lamptey, who has been in form this season, it becomes clear that this position is a real conundrum for England.
Midfield is the key area that fans want to see addressed, with the insistence on playing two holding players against the ‘harder’ teams causing growing frustration among supporters.
One of Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson, Kalvin Phillips or Harry Winks is OK but more than one in the same side often results in a backlash.
Jordan Henderson has been the strongest performing out of the four over the last couple of years and partnering him with a more energetic or creative player could help to appease fans.
Jude Bellingham became England’s third youngest ever player at just 17 against the Republic of Ireland and could be a dark horse to come into the midfield in the future.
Then there’s James Maddison or Ross Barkley who, when on top form, are some of the Three Lions’ best options in the middle.
Finally, the front three is full of options for Southgate to look at.
Harry Kane is the captain and with seven goals and nine assists in the Premier League for Tottenham this season is one of the first names on the team sheet for England.
Either side of him is where Southgate needs to consider – with fans clamouring for the inclusion of Grealish for some time now.
The Aston Villa captain played in all three games over the recent international break, so if he can keep up his fine form then he looks nailed on to force his way into the manager’s plans.
The final spot in the squad is then up for grabs, with at least three elite level players pushing to start.
Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho seem the most likely candidates and you could argue the inclusion of any.
Time will tell how Southgate approaches things next time around and if he can reach the same heights that he did in the summer of 2018.
There is plenty of football to be played between now and the next international fixtures but one thing for certain is that Southgate needs to nail his team selection when they come around.
By Ali Pollock
