Pundit Micah Richards believes that England have a problem involving Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier.
The 33-year-old started for the Three Lions on Sunday night, as they beat Serbia 1-0 to kick off Euro 2024 with a win.
However, it was not a vintage performance from England, who had Kieran Trippier playing out of position.
Given England’s injury concerns at left-back, the Newcastle defender is having to play on the left rather than the right, which limited their ability to attack down that flank.
But Trippier was certainly solid, as he played the full 90 minutes in Gelsenkirchen.
Micah Richards is worried about Kieran Trippier for England
While Trippier did well enough during England’s first game of the Euros, there are understandably concerns over the fact that Southgate is using him out of position.
It is a problem that Micah Richards has highlighted on The Rest Is Football podcast, believing that his inclusion hinders England’s ability to attack down the left.
“I still think there is a bit of work to do on the left-hand side,” he said.
“I thought Trippier, we know defensively he’s really good, but on the ball offensively you lose something going forward. And that’s understandable, of course it is.”
Gareth Southgate has no choice but to play Newcastle United veteran
Richards is right, but England do not really have any other options right now.
The only natural left-back that is with the squad is Luke Shaw, who has not played since February 18th. He has missed four months of action with a muscle injury, but is back in training and is hoping to represent England at Euro 2024.
But that will be easier said than done. While he is back in training, he will not immediately find his match fitness. It will take Shaw time to get back up to speed, and time is exactly what Southgate does not have.
Until Shaw is deemed ready, it will be Trippier at left-back. The only other option is Joe Gomez, but that would lead to similar problems given the fact that he is also right-footed.
The Trippier problem was made worse on Sunday due to the fact that Phil Foden was in front of him. While he is an elite footballer, he is not a left winger. He struggled to have any kind of impact against Serbia, leading to questions over his role in the side.
England were never really able to launch any attacks down the left, with two players on that side of the pitch being asked to play out of position. But while Southgate has no choice but to play Trippier, he does have alternatives to Foden – most notably Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon.
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