To fix England, Gareth Southgate needs to make bold move and drop Jude Bellingham

Your best players are still your best players. Your best team is not necessarily the one with all the best players on the pitch. Unfortunately England are in that place again. Much like Sven-Göran Eriksson failing to utilise Michael Carrick at the 2006 World Cup, or Roy Hodgson putting Wayne Rooney in his midfield at Euro 2016,has fallen into a familiar trap.

This is not the moment to wait for Luke Shaw to regain full fitness. Ian Wright has thought outside the box, suggesting the left-footed Bukayo Saka at left‑back, a position the winger played in his youth. Something less defensively vulnerable, though, would be moving Kyle Walker left and starting Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back. Still unbalanced? Yes. Walker is not left-footed.

Different angles are required. Bringing in Cole Palmer, who played with swagger after coming on against Slovenia, for Saka needs to happen. But don’t stop there. England also need speed on the flanks. Foden is going to miss training sessions, which makes him vulnerable if Southgate finally starts Anthony Gordon on the left. In different circumstances, though, the right call would be to move Foden inside and drop Bellingham.

It was almost as if Bellingham thinks he has to be Diego Maradona at Mexico ’86. Against Slovenia, though, the vibe was different. He worked harder and drifted left at times. This time the problem was execution. It was striking how often Bellingham lost possession. He looked suffocated by the pressure. Foden, while not perfect, has been in livelier form. He does not deserve to be dropped. Bellingham has just had two stinkers.

Jude-Bellingham Gareth-Southgate Phil-Foden

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