Our choices for the starting XI for England at Euro 2024

This is an absolute lock in real life, and also for our personal starting 11. Pickford has been the No. 1 in net for England for a few years now, and there is no reason for that to change. It’s not just that Aaron Ramsdale lost his starting gig this season or that Dean Henderson is, you know, Dean Henderson. Pickford is a high-level keeper. He started every single game for Everton this year, and Everton only allowed 51 goals. Three teams allowed fewer: Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal, aka the third best teams in the league.

Though he is now 34, Walker is as much of a lock as Pickford for Euro 2024. He’ll be playing at right back, as he has done over 80 times for England. We have no quibbles with that. Walker served as captain for Manchester City, owing to his skill and his leadership. There are more dynamic attacking players available, but Walker’s speed and steady defense is what this national side needs.

Next to Walker we have his Manchester City teammate Stones. Being able to have two guys who have played together for club and country so often is nice. Obviously, Walker and Stones know how to work together. The issue with international play is throwing together a bunch of players and trying to quickly establish chemistry and comfort. Having Walker and Stones on the back line helps make that easier.

Centre back is not the deepest position for England, so it’s time for Guehi, who will turn 24 at the end of Euro 2024, to step up. He’s now an experienced Premier League centre back, which was not the case at the time of the 2022 World Cup. Guehi has been a starter at centre back for Crystal Palace for three seasons now. Palace isn’t one of the best teams in the world, but the Premier League is the best league in the world, and Guehi has shown he can hang.

This was the trickiest position. Who to start at left back? It could have been easy. Luke Shaw would be the choice under better circumstances. However, in February he injured a leg muscle and has not played since. While he’s been named to the England squad, do you want to start a guy at left back who is making his return from a serious muscle injury in his leg? We don’t. Trippier is a veteran, and a better playmaker than Walker. He’s also a right back by trade. Trippier would be playing out of position, but we prefer that to Shaw.

The two deeper-lying midfielders will be connecting the defense to the attack, and play a key role in pushing the ball out of England’s defensive zone. Alexander-Arnold is a fine choice for that. He mostly plays right back at Liverpool, where he’s proven to be one of the best passers and ball pushers out there. Southgate, though, likes him in the midfield, where he has played at times for Liverpool as well. That makes sense. Alexander-Arnold is a dynamic playmaker. He can take corners and free kicks. The drawback with him at right back is that his defensive skills are lacking for, you know, a defender. In a tournament such as this, that’s not ideal, but Alexander-Arnold’s skills can be used lying deep in the midfield.

If so inclined, Rice can act as one of the best defensive midfielders in football. As his career has gone on, he’s also proven skilled in the attack. In fact, for Arsenal this past season he had seven goals and eight assists and was one of the best players in the Premier League. Rice is a must as a starter for England. He can put out fires in the midfield before things get too dangerous, but without the one-dimensional game of some defensive midfielders.

Among the attacking midfielders/wingers, Bellingham will be in the middle of it all. He’s the best center midfielder in the world. The dude just scored 19 goals in 28 La Liga games and added four more in 11 Champions League games for Real Madrid in his age-20 season. When a player like Bellingham is available, you start him. In fact, he should be at the center of everything for England.

Foden is an attacking midfielder, but not a traditional winger per se, though he has played in that role. However, Bellingham needs to be at the center of the action for England. Foden isn’t a perfect fit, but given his skill we want him starting, and we trust he and Bellingham can figure it out. The 24-year-old was Manchester City’s best player this past season, putting him in the running for best player in the Premier League. He had 19 goals and eight assists and was a disciplined player who drew a lot of fouls.

It only took one season at Chelsea for Palmer to convince us he should be starting for England at Euro 2024. A more natural player on the wing than some other options, and also Foden, Palmer scored 22 goals and had 11 assists during the 2023-24 Premier League season. He was the driving force behind Chelsea’s offense, and we think he can do that for England as well.

Of course, in the end, up front at forward we have to have Kane. He has more goals for England than anybody. He’s second in career Premier League goals, and he would have ended up first had he not moved to Bayern Munich. Oh, and when Kane moved to Bayern, he went and won the European Golden Boot by scoring 36 goals in only 32 games. Clearly, now 30, Kane can still score with the best of him. He’s got to be up front for England.

Two other players from England’s 26-man roster got real consideration from us. Conor Gallagher has emerged as a high-level midfielder for Chelsea, but he’s not as good as Rice or Bellingham, and we’d rather have Alexander-Arnold as a deep-lying midfielder because he brings something different to the pitch. On the attacking front, Bukayo Saka should be the go-to choice as a super sub to bring some offensive juice. Saka and Palmer were neck-and-neck, but Palmer edged Saka out.