Former England defender Jamie Carragher has given his thoughts on why Jack Grealish shouldn’t start for England tonight.
The Three Lions are set to take on Germany this evening in an absolutely huge Round of 16 clash at Euro 2020. A victory here could really open up the door for Gareth Southgate’s men to make a run to the final, given that their opponents in the quarters and semis would be Sweden/Ukraine and Denmark/Czech Republic.
Will Grealish feature tonight?
Of course, the biggest question of all surrounds the team selection, with many wondering what kind of setup Southgate is going to opt for.
In his column for The Telegraph, Carragher explained why Aston Villa star Jack Grealish probably isn’t suited to starting against the 2014 world champions.
“Germany have stuck with their high, defensive line which is susceptible to counter-attacks,’ Carragher said. “For all the nationwide clamour for Southgate to stick with Jack Grealish, there are sound tactical reasons for him not doing so against this profile of opposition.” He explained.
“I have repeatedly made the point during this tournament that you can’t have a well-balanced team if too many players come towards the ball and not enough run behind defenders. That is more important than ever against a German defence which will give England a chance to turn them around.”
The attacking prowess of England has been evident ever since the squad was first announced but as we know, they’ve only scored twice in the tournament thus far with both goals coming from Raheem Sterling.
Grealish didn’t play against Croatia and struggled off the bench in the Scotland game, but when tasked with taking on the Czechs, he was in great form and even provided the assist for Sterling’s header.
He’ll hope that his next big moment to shine comes at 5pm when the hosts kick off against bitter rivals Germany.
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