[Albionic]

Kyle walker will take some replacing when the time comes, I assume that Trippier moves over and Luke Shaw comes back in.
I really don't like Terence Arnold as a defender, so hope Southgate doesnt bow to the media on that one.

I agree about Henderson / Kalvin Phillips, neither inspire confidence, of the two,  I prefer Henderson though.

A standout young english centre half would be a god send though

Apart from those concerns it looks extremely positive, all the more so with a talent like Bellingham to call on.

[MarkW]

Kyle walker will take some replacing when the time comes, I assume that Trippier moves over and Luke Shaw comes back in.
I really don't like Terence Arnold as a defender, so hope Southgate doesnt bow to the media on that one.

I agree about Henderson / Kalvin Phillips, neither inspire confidence, of the two,  I prefer Henderson though.

A standout young english centre half would be a god send though

Apart from those concerns it looks extremely positive, all the more so with a talent like Bellingham to call on.

Given Trippier is the same age as Walkerz I don't think he's the long term solution.

If Reece James can stay fit he'd definitely be in contention.

[NJS]

Maguire is a very uninspiring player, last might he did a Bartley and passed 90% of the time along the back; he can't trust himself to get the ball to one of our midfielders.

Yesterday evening we had two players on the left of our defence who favour the right foot.  Colwill looks a far better prospect at LCB or LB.  Should have been him and Dunk last night.  Gueye made some important defensive contributions when he came on.  With such talent to call on why is Maguire there?

It's also a disgrace to pick Phillips, if he wanted to be in the England team more than collecting a huge pay-check for sitting on the bench, he'd be agitating for a move. 

It seems that Southgate wouldn't want to do something so cruel as dropping his favourites.

I'm still failing to see the effectiveness of Grealish yet he gets a cheer when he comes on for the last knocking of a game.

[caravanc58]

Maguire is a very uninspiring player, last might he did a Bartley and passed 90% of the time along the back; he can't trust himself to get the ball to one of our midfielders.

Yesterday evening we had two players on the left of our defence who favour the right foot.  Colwill looks a far better prospect at LCB or LB.  Should have been him and Dunk last night.  Gueye made some important defensive contributions when he came on.  With such talent to call on why is Maguire there?

It's also a disgrace to pick Phillips, if he wanted to be in the England team more than collecting a huge pay-check for sitting on the bench, he'd be agitating for a move. 

It seems that Southgate wouldn't want to do something so cruel as dropping his favourites.

I'm still failing to see the effectiveness of Grealish yet he gets a cheer when he comes on for the last knocking of a game.

I would have Tomori ahead of Maguire all the time,  midfield is an area that may be problematic with Gallagher, Henderson and Phillips not offering much. We need a really good Central midfielder to allow Bellingham to make these forward runs and not get exposed at the same time. Rice is the obvious choice but blows not and cold and lacks pace.

[liverbaggie]

Were due a win in the euros and i think we will win it
Currently the best team in europe, a bit of a masterclass in finishing last night all goals brilliantly taken

[Albionic]

Given Trippier is the same age as Walkerz I don't think he's the long term solution.

If Reece James can stay fit he'd definitely be in contention.

didnt realise Trippier was that old, thanks for highlighting that

[zippyandbungle]

Were due a win in the euros and i think we will win it
Currently the best team in europe, a bit of a masterclass in finishing last night all goals brilliantly taken

I’m not sure that we are due a win,but we certainly do have enough talent to do so.
We have some really good players and some that get by/are carried by them
Geuhi,Dunk,tomori are all ahead of Maguire
We don’t appear hugely blessed in central midfield,Bellingham is the stand out and if he is played ahead of Rice (lacks pace and whilst good still overrated) and Gallagher ,stones or mount then that’s ok but Phillips isn’t great and Henderson is now just a comedy selection .
Keeper I’d actually play Sam Johnstone out of all the options
Foden, rashford,Saka Kane all very good players that deliver consistently
Grealish has gone backwards and that describes his general direction during a match

Ultimately we are stuck ,the good in the team get us quite far despite the manager,because we get so far they won’t get rid of him,keeping him restricts us from winning a tournament.

Let’s not forget that Italy had quite a few players out last night …

[gazberg]

Get rid fo Southgate and we have a real chance.

[Baggies]

Surprised by the negativity towards Grealish. I don't pay much attention to the prem at the moment but I've seen it said that he has had a quiet start to the season (which is just the 2 months old), but last season Grealish was the starting option for Guardiola's treble winning front three. He was seen by neutrals in Spain as one of, if not the best players on the pitch as City demolished Real Madrid. He clearly has something and provides a great option alongside side our rich attacking options Saka, Rashford, Bellingham, Maddison, Foden and to a lesser extent Bowen and Eze.

Away from him, I'm still unsure on our core. Colwill has apparently had a good start to the season at Chelsea from a statistical point and fills in well at left centre half, but Southgate does seem frustrating set on Maguire for now. The other options Guehi, Tomori and Dunk are all reasonable but for me atleast, look unlikely to elevate their games to become cream of the crop defenders so were banking on Scales/Colwill. Once Walker retires, maybe it will be Rico Lewis or post Southgate - Ben White? There are a ton of full backs knocking around though, as much as I do love Walker.

Central midfield is the weak point though. It is unlikely to be fixed in time for next summer, of those not yet in contemtion, i doubt the likes of Longstaff, Ramsey, Ireogbunam or Elliott will come in and make much difference. By the 2026 world cup or the 2028 Euros, maybe we will be looking to Kobee Mainoo at Man Utd, Archie Grey at Leeds, Jobe Bellingham/Chris Rigg at Sunderland or Bobby Clark at Liverpool.

[robnewbold]

With the worst European opposition ever, a poor Italian side, a rubbish German side we should expect to get to another final at least. Our choice of available players is currently  the best it has been in years. Unfortunately we have a timid, play safe Manager who will win us nothing. Philips and Maguire should be no where near the squad. He consistently makes the safest choice and we will win nothing with him at the helm.

[Dan]

People give Southgate way too hard a time, he's not perfect but no manager is. The England team is good but not the incredible team people make it out to be. The centre back situation whichever way you cut it is not that great. Then the biggest problem with England remains the central midfield and lack of a controlling player. There just isn't a particularly desirable player there. It's a problem for England and one that usually rears its heads in tournaments. The usual cries of "release the handbrake" are always fairly naive. You can't have this version of attacking Bellingham and also think any other manager would be pairing him with Maddison, or TAA will be holding with Rice. That's just trying to cram all the attacking players into the side which isn't serious stuff. Hodgson actually did try that back in 2014 to horrible results, although fans quickly forgot him doing everything they wanted.

Right now its still probably the second best squad in Europe, after France, but its not that much better than Portugal, Spain, and Germany who would all be pretty even games.

It's pretty funny to see Germany mentioned as weak - they have been an actually poorly managed team - their actual players are very good. That's the difference between a team who's actually been poorly managed in recent years and England, who have not been poorly managed.

[Baggies]

People give Southgate way too hard a time, he's not perfect but no manager is. The England team is good but not the incredible team people make it out to be. The centre back situation whichever way you cut it is not that great. Then the biggest problem with England remains the central midfield and lack of a controlling player. There just isn't a particularly desirable player there. It's a problem for England and one that usually rears its heads in tournaments. The usual cries of "release the handbrake" are always fairly naive. You can't have this version of attacking Bellingham and also think any other manager would be pairing him with Maddison, or TAA will be holding with Rice. That's just trying to cram all the attacking players into the side which isn't serious stuff. Hodgson actually did try that back in 2014 to horrible results, although fans quickly forgot him doing everything they wanted.

Right now its still probably the second best squad in Europe, after France, but its not that much better than Portugal, Spain, and Germany who would all be pretty even games.

It's pretty funny to see Germany mentioned as weak - they have been an actually poorly managed team - their actual players are very good. That's the difference between a team who's actually been poorly managed in recent years and England, who have not been poorly managed.

The Spain midfield 3 of Gavi, Rodri and Pedri, paired with the exciting kids coming through like Lamine Yamal, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres still scare me as much as France, although the fact they have to play Joselu reminds me of their own issues.

As for our midfield, if the worst happens and the likes of Mainoo, Gray, Rigg, Clark, Lewis-Skelly, Webster etc don’t turn out to be able to operate at the very highest level, I wonder if the option will be for Jude Bellingham to go back in alongside Rice and operate in a Paul Pogba - France 2018 role? He is going to be good enough to play anywhere and England are finding it a lot easier to produce exciting attacking midfielders. Carney Chukwuemka at Chelsea might yet turn out to be a world beater while Ethan Nwaneri looks frighteningly good at Arsenal.

[Standaman]

There are 4 players whose fitness is essential if England are to have a good tournament next summer. Kane, Saka, Rice and Bellingham. All of whom will have to navigate 50 plus game seasons. They are not only the squads best players but in most cases there isn't very obvious stand-ins. If any of those players are absent with the possible exception of Saka there would be a noticeable drop off in quality.

Looking beyond the summer to the next World Cup  both Walker and Trippier are likely to need to be replaced and whether Kane has one last tournament in him is debatable. However aside from those players and Henderson who in my view shouldn't be in the squad now it lands at the World Cup in a reasonably healthy position.

[liverbaggie]

So sad to hear thst Sir Bobby Chsrlton has passed away
One of our  greatest ever players, a true gentleman and it was a pleasure to watch him play.
RIP Sir Bobby

[Albionic]

Only just picked up on this RIP Bobby, class act on & off the pitch.

[elmo_in_swansea]

Falling asleep watching this England dross, borefest, yes it's only Malta but come on make it entertaining, H Kane makes it 2 with the 2nd shot on target!

[gazberg]

3 now, cracker from Rice

[gazberg]

Nope, they ruled it out for offside i think

[baggie53]

I know nowadays possession is everything, but all the sideways and backwards passing bores the pants off me. Even the so called progressive players won't take a chance on a forward pass.

[KN22]

They didn’t have to extend themselves in any way and, as is often the case in those circumstances, you get a boring watch.

[baggie53]

They didn’t have to extend themselves in any way and, as is often the case in those circumstances, you get a boring watch.

But that is normal in most matches. A winger/wingback has space in front of him, but 9 times out of 10 he will pass back to the centre back

[GlenGrant]

Southgate was seen as a safe pair of hands. He's done a job, but alas he has no adventure. We could do with a change now. Selecting players like Henderson when your playing Malta says it all. The rest of the team played at a stroll it was a simple excuse to turn it off.

[johnny Cash]

Bizarre officiating tonight. Maguire looks like he fouls a player in the box as far as I’m concerned and he gets away with it, then the ref gives one against Rico Lewis for no reason at all

[gazberg]

Ref was keen to give it i think, home fans giving him some grief.

[liverbaggie]

Rubbish performance by England, Grealish offers nothing, Watkins, is he playing?
Weve hit the post ok, young Rico looks ok but no shots on target, boring for me