Sam Allardyce wanted to see the whole system changed but Gareth Southgate has done the exact opposite.
Southgate has named an unchanged side for Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against Sweden, despite reports that he was set to leave Dele Alli on the bench.
The England manager is clearly happy with his first team and doesn’t want to upset the balance so has kept the faith with the starting XI that started Tuesday’s Round of 16 clash with Colombia.
Jordan Pickford keeps his place in goal behind Kyle Walker, John Stones and Harry Maguire while Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young continue in their wing-back roles.
Here's our official teamsheet – the #ThreeLions are unchanged from the side that started our last-16 win over Colombia. 💪 pic.twitter.com/Yp9gYgYzgY
— England (@England) July 7, 2018
Jordan Henderson starts in the heart of midfield, along with Alli, and Harry Kane will be supported by Raheem Sterling and Jesse Lingard up front.
“I have total respect for Sweden and have come across them many times in my role with junior England teams,” said Southgate.
“We appreciate this challenge will be tough. We’re far from perfect. We’re in a really good position, and we’ve made progress, but we’re still a team which is learning I think the players will like the fact that they’re still recognising there’s still a long way for them to go, that they’re still a long way away from their peak.
“But also, this might be one of the best opportunities we ever have and we don’t want to fall short by not being prepared or committed to what we’re doing.”
