Jamie Carragher names only THREE England stars who’d get into France XI – but backs Three Lions bench to win it
JAMIE CARRAGHER believes only three England stars would get into France’s team but is confident the Three Lions will find a way to win.
The pundit also claimed no right-back is better suited to dealing with the threat of Kylian Mbappe than Kyle Walker.
England take on France at 7pm on Saturday in a crunch quarter-final clash.
And although Carragher feels France have a stronger starting eleven than England, he is confident of a Three Lions win due to the squad’s strength in depth.
In his column for The Telegraph Carragher suggested only Walker, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham would get into the France team.
That means he would likely pick Antoine Griezmann and Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield ahead of Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson.
While he also favours Raphael Varane and Dayot Upamencano in defence instead of Harry Maguire and John Stones.
Despite France’s personnel superiority, Carragher believes England should not change to counter their threat.
He dimissed the suggestion Southgate should switch to five-at-the-back, saying: “It is unnecessary.
“Whether Walker is right centre-back or right-back, his duel with Mbappe is still going to be based on their sprint races. England will lose too much up the park if they sacrifice an attacker for a defender.
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“If you could pick any right back in the world to face Mbappe it would be Walker due to his raw pace.”
Carragher also urged Southgate to be brave and make use of all the options available to him on the bench, where he believes the game could be won.
He said: “If France have a superior starting XI, England have a better 16-man squad if both sides use their full allocation of substitutes,’ he added.
“This match can be won from the bench, where Southgate’s options are as good as any coach left in the tournament. This is where he must be at his bravest.”