Ben White ... the 26th man into the starting XI

The selection of Ben White today may see him chosen as the 26th man but his inclusion in the squad may prove to be a massively significant moment.

It is widely accepted that England will enter Euro 2020 with the most talent at their disposal for some time, yet selecting a team for the opening game appears fraught with problems for Gareth Southgate. Here I look at the selection decisions which face the England boss this week.

A couple of months ago Gary Neville nominated Harry Maguire as the most important player in the England squad as he is irreplaceable. His injury looks certain to rule him out of the Croatia game and his absence is the root cause of England’s selection dilemmas.

With Maguire available then I believe England would enter the first tournament game with a back four allowing them to utilise their abundance of talent in forward areas. However with Maguire unavailable a back four seemed unlikely with the personnel at Southgate’s disposal.

When Southgate selected his squad, the centre halves selected only included three that would be considered comfortable in a back four. Connor Coady is almost solely a back three defender, while Rhys James and Kyle Walker are purely wide defenders in a three. Only John Stones, Harry Maguire and Tyrone Mings could be genuinely considered as candidates for a role in the centre of a back four.

I think a back four would be Southgate’s preference purely because of the options it allows across the rest of the team. A back three with two wing backs, only allows for two central midfield players if as expected Southgate wants to use three up front. Option for those midfield players are limited with a number of holding midfielders plus Mason Mount. Playing Mount in a midfield two may leave England vulnerable against a Croatia team that will dominate the ball. In addition, Mount seems an almost certain starter meaning he will be squeezed into a forward line with Harry Kane leaving room for only one other forward. Phil Foden and Jack Grealish appear the most in form for this positions, but selecting a forward line of Kane, Mount and Foden will leave the team short of pace up front and less of a counter attacking threat against a team where the counter attack would appear the best tactic.

Therefore, in order to get pace into the side either Marcus Rashford or Raheem Sterling will need to be included, probably the former in current form. This means that with Kane and Mount certain starters that wonder kid and X factor player Foden may be omitted.

Assuming Southgate wants pace in the team in the form of Rashford/Sterling then either Mount has to play as a central midfield player in a two which is a risk in this game, or Southgate has to find a way to select a back four.

The full back positions are well covered. I think Kyle Walker, Kieron Trippier or Rhys James at RB and Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell at left back will have their supporters and will provide similar levels of defensive and attacking abilities. I expect Walker and Trippier to be selected and both are comfortable in a back four.

John Stones will be a certain starter in a three or four, and fitness issues aside will have partnered Maguire. However, with the Man Utd player injured, the only other option in the squad to partner Stones would be Tyrone Mings. However the Villa man has been arguably the least impressive player for England in the two warm up games and I am sure Southgate has serious reservations about selecting him in a back four.

That leaves two options, either switch to a three with the previously discussed consequences or bring Ben White into the team. White has been impressive this season for Brighton and last season for Leeds and had been widely tipped for international honours. However he has never represented England at any level prior to his debut last week but he looked far more assured against Romania than his central defensive partner Mings and I believe this convinced Southgate to name him as the 26th man.

Croatia are a footballing side, and while Stones and White are both footballing centre halves they should be able to cope with the Croatia style of play, although Southgate will hope Maguire returns to fitness for the more physical encounters with Scotland and Czech Rep.

White has moved up the footballing pyramid throughout his career and excelled at each level, Newport in League 2, Peterborough in League 1, Leeds in the Championship and Brighton in the Premier League so there is no reason why he cannot make the jump to international football.

Picking the impressive White on Sunday alongside Stones, Walker and Trippier will give England a capable of slightly lightweight back four. It will though allow Southgate to utilise his options further forward.

Jordan Pickford is one of two automatic choices in the team and he will be between the sticks looking to build on his impressive previous tournament performances.

Declan Rice will be massively important in the defensive midfield role, protecting the inexperienced centre back partnership. Playing a back four will allow for an additional holding midfield player so expect Kalvin Phillips to line up alongside Rice. While White and Stones looks a slightly weaker than desired centre back partnership, the strength and stability provided by Rice and Phillips should provide them with adequate protection.

While Mount may be considered vulnerable in a midfield two, he is a definite selection in a midfield three and his creativity and energy will be vital in that area of the field.

Up front Kane is the second automatic selection but there is competition for the two places alongside him. Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka seem the outsiders for the roles and with Southgate looking to probably select one ball player and one pacey option, the choices come down to Rashford or Sterling and Foden or Grealish.

Rashford is not on top form but probably enjoyed a better end to the season than Sterling and he also took the armband vs Romania so if I was a betting man I would expect him to take the role on the left.

On the opposite side Foden or Grealish is a tough decision. Foden has been a star of the season and is the potential game changer which is needed at major tournaments while Grealish has been the standout player in the two warm up games.

Grealish often plays from the left while Foden is more versatile and it may be this that sees Foden get the nod for a start but expect to see Grealish appear from the bench.

In terms of the match day squad, Southgate will have to leave out three players. Maguire is an obvious omission, alongside the third choice keeper, probably Sam Johnstone. After that it may depend on the fitness of Jordan Henderson, but assuming he is fit, then one of the two left backs will miss out, probably Ben Chilwell.

So as England enter their first tournament game on home soil for twenty five years, this is my line up

GK Pickford

RB Walker

LB Trippier

CB Stones

CB White

CM Phillips

CM Rice

CM Mount

LW Rashford

CF Kane

RW Foden

Subs

Henderson

James

Coady

Mings

Shaw

Bellingham

Henderson

Sancho

Saka

Calvert-Lewin

Grealish

Sterling