Although England have won only one major international tournament in their entire football history, the English media have always made sure that The Three Lions are one of the favourites to win any tournament, adding extra pressure onto the players. The English players will have to handle the pressure when they begin their Euro 2016 campaign against Russia on June 12.
England are going to play the tournament with the youngest average age of all teams and it remains to be seen whether Roy Hodgson can come up with the right combination to fit in all his best players.
With a lot of youngsters in the squad, the onus will be on the experienced players to step up and put in performances that will help the Three Lions go all the way in the tournament. We take a look at the possible starting XI for England based on their form for their country as well as their form in the 2015/16 season.
Here is the 23-man squad for England:
Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton, ENG), Joe Hart (Manchester City, ENG), Tom Heaton (Burnley, ENG)
Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton, ENG), Gary Cahill (Chelsea, ENG), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool, ENG), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG), Chris Smalling (Manchester United, ENG), John Stones (Everton, ENG), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG)
Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG), Ross Barkley (Everton, ENG), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool, ENG), Adam Lallana (Liverpool, ENG), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, ENG), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal, ENG)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur, ENG), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United, ENG), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, ENG), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool, ENG), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City, ENG).
Formation: 4-4-2 (Diamond)
Goalkeeper – Joe Hart
Joe Hart has been England’s Number 1 goalkeeper for the last few years and will definitely don the gloves for the Three Lions. Although Manchester City finished in the fourth position in the English Premier League (EPL) table, Hart was one of the better players for them.
The 29-year-old kept 15 clean sheets in 35 EPL appearances. This was the joint second highest for any goalkeeper in the league, only one behind Golden Glove winner, Petr Cech. Despite not being the best distributor of the ball, his saves per game ratio of 2.23 this season is something that will aid England's bid to win the tournament.
Defenders
England's backline is one that will mainly involve youth, with only Gary Cahill having some amount of experience. Going by the 2015/16 season, Chris Smalling is the player who will be set to partner Cahill at centre-back. Despite having an injury scare after leaving Tuesday's training session with a knee strap, Smalling is set to regain full fitness ahead of England's opener on Saturday.
In the full-back positions, the most likely starters are Tottenham Hotspur players, Kyle Walker and Danny Rose. The marauding full-backs were quite brilliant throughout the 2015/16 season for the Spurs as the North London club were one of the EPL title contenders. If Smalling is not able to start the first match, the only centre-back in reserve is John Stones and the 22-year-old will most likely partner Cahill.
Midfielders
In the last friendly match against Portugal, England had played with a 4-3-3 formation, one that has never really been successful for the English. Players looked all over the place as they failed to blend into the new system. Hodgson will most likely revert to a 4-4-2 during the Euros, with a diamond in the midfield.
Eric Dier, who was immense for Tottenham in midfield during the Premier League, is set to be at the base of the diamond assisting the defence out and doing the dirty work for his team. One area of concern with Dier is his tendency to get booked. He had received the second highest number of yellow cards (10) in the Premier League.
On the two wings of the midfield diamond, James Milner and Dele Alli are the likely players to feature, with Milner on the right wing and Alli on the left. Both players have executed the same role for their respective clubs in the Premier League. Alli, in particular, was a sensation for Tottenham, scoring 10 goals and assisting 11 in all competitions.
With Hodgson having reaffirmed that Wayne Rooney is a definite starter, it would seem most sensible to play the captain at the tip of the diamond, behind the strikers. Going by his recent performances for Manchester United, the 30-year-old looks more than comfortable playing in the centre of the field and pulling the strings.
Forwards
Rooney's form as a striker was not the very best in the recently concluded season. But, this was probably a blessing in disguise, considering that Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy had stellar seasons for Tottenham and Leicester City respectively. It would be harsh to bench either of Kane or Vardy after the form they have been of late.
Kane scored 25 goals in 38 Premier League appearances, while Vardy scored 24 goals and had 6 assists in 36 appearances. With two of the best strikers in England playing up top, the English fans will hope that the duo can carry on their form from the 2015/16 season to the Euro 2016 and give the Three Lions their first ever Euro Championship title.
