The Man Utd star who simply must be given his chance in England's Euro 2024 round of 16 clash

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The Three Lions drew 0-0 with Slovenia on Tuesday

Errrrrrrrm. Positives. Positives, positives, positives. Well, we won the group, somehow. That’s a positive. And Germany, France, Portugal, and Spain are all on the other side of the knockout draw. So that’s definitely a positive. Hell, I think we might have even had a shot on target at one stage point last night. Then, again I could be Mandela Effect-ing myself with that one.

England’s inauspicious beginning to their Euro 2024 campaign has, over the course of three group stage matches, strayed from inconveniently drab to downright concerning. That is not some rabid pushing of a media agenda, by the way, but simply a frank assessment of a side in stagnation. The Three Lions were sluggish against Serbia, dire against Denmark, and only marginally less sedate against Slovenia. Still, into the last 16 they stumble, where a mystery opponent - perhaps the Netherlands, perhaps not - awaits on Sunday evening.

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But the most alarming problem facing Gareth Southgate, nestled snugly in amongst all the other alarming problems, is that three games into a tournament that many believed England could actually win, he still does not appear to know what his best team is. Some of this is enforced, of course, and the sooner Luke Shaw returns from injury to play at left-back, for instance, the better for the collective nerve endings of the nation. But there are other conundrums which feel, to a certain degree, self-inflicted.

Should Phil Foden be playing out on the left flank or in a more central berth? If he is to be shunted inside would that necessitate the omission of Jude Bellingham? Is it worth rolling the dice on Cole Palmer or Anthony Gordon and giving them a starting role in the knockouts? These are all questions that, in an ideal world, England would already have definite answers for. Instead, they are scrambling around in the dark, tripping over themselves and stubbing their toes on all kinds of awkward protrusions.

And then, there is the centre of midfield. The Trent Alexander-Arnold Experiment failed. It was no fun while it lasted. On Tuesday night in Cologne, Southgate instead opted to start Conor Gallagher alongside Declan Rice in the engine room. The results were - how can I put this - underwhelming. Hooked at half-time, the Chelsea dynamo, with his general vibe like a handsome hockey puck, did little to notably influence England’s fortunes. His replacement, however, did.

Kobbie Mainoo’s introduction was not the epiphanic ignition that some might have been blindly praying for, but at the very least, it was an improvement on what had come prior. The Manchester United teenager brought with him a sense of urgency, progressiveness, and control that has been sorely lacking for the vast majority of the Three Lions’ continental sojourn thus far, and with him on the pitch they looked more like a cohesive attacking unit - even if a winning goal continued to elude them.

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In many respects, his contribution was basic, but it was basic done well, and that is more than can be said for a lot of England’s output of late. It is for this reason that he surely, surely has to start on Sunday.

There will be other heated debates besides, other headaches keeping Southgate awake at night as he prepares for a round of 16 clash that the Three Lions’ do not look remotely ready for. But one decision should have been made for him during the second half of his side’s Slovenian stalemate; Mainoo has to be given his chance.

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