How England could line-up at Euro 2024: Saka & Alexander-Arnold start

England are already well on course to booking their place at the Euro 2024 finals. In this article, we look at the possible starting eleven Gareth Southgate will select at the tournament next year.

Southgate has got England off to the perfect start to their qualifying campaign as the Three Lions have secured four wins from their four group stage games so far. After being drawn in Group C alongside Italy, Ukraine, North Macedonia and Malta, it looked like it could be a tricky qualification period for the Three Lions.

However, England kicked things off with an impressive 2-1 victory away to Italy back in March. Goals from Declan Rice and a Harry Kane penalty did the damage in Naples. England then beat Ukraine 2-0 at Wembley Stadium thanks to goals from Kane and Bukayo Saka. Having beaten their main two rivals, they were already in control of the group.

England really took charge of things after thrashing Malta 4-0 away in June. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kane [pen], Callum Wilson [pen] and an own goal ensured a comfortable win for Southgate’s team. It was Saka’s night a week later as England hammered North Macedonia 7-0 at Old Trafford. The Arsenal youngster scored his first ever senior hat-trick to put the Three Lions in control. Kane [2], Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips were also on the scoresheet during the rout.

Upcoming fixtures

England sit top of Group C with a maximum 12 points – 6 ahead of second-placed Ukraine who have a game in hand and 9 ahead of Italy who have two games in hand. Southgate’s men can put one foot in the draw for Euro 2024 if they beat Ukraine next month and if they follow that up with a win over Italy at Wembley in October, they are almost certain to be in the hat for the finals.

The final two qualification games see England take on Malta in London in November before travelling to North Macedonia to finalise their group stage qualification games. Unless there is a monumental collapse over the next four games, we should see England at Euro 2024 where they’ll be among the favourites to go all the way.

They’ll hope for a kind draw but no matter who England play in the finals, supporters will be desperate to get their hands on tickets when they go on sale at reputable reselling sites such as Seatsnet.

• Sat 9th Sept – Ukraine vs England
• Tues 17th Oct – England vs Italy
• Fri 17th Nov – England vs Malta
• Mon 20th Nov – North Macedonia vs England

Possible line-up

Goalkeeper: There is fierce competition for the No.1 shirt as Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale and Newcastle United’s Nick Pope are both challenging Jordan Pickford for the starting spot. Ramsdale and Pope have both been excellent over the past year and helped their clubs qualify for the Champions League this season. However, Southgate seems to have a soft spot for Pickford and is expected to stick with the Everton stopper as long as he performs well this season.

Defence: The big question mark if Harry Maguire. The 31-year-old has been a regular under Southgate during his tenure and the England boss has stuck by him despite his troubles at Man Utd. Maguire lost his place under Erik ten Hag last season but Southgate still chose him to start for his country during recent games against Malta and North Macedonia. However, surely the England boss can’t keep picking Maguire if he doesn’t play for United once again this season. Ten Hag has made it clear Maguire isn’t in his plans and after rejecting a move to West Ham, the centre-back looks destined for another year on the bench which should see him lose his place for his country.

That could open the door for Levi Colwill to establish himself as a regular at senior level. The defender was outstanding for Brighton last season and is now a regular for Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino. As long as he continues to impress for the Blues, Colwill should be given his opportunity to shine for his country. John Stones is expected to keep his place as he’s been superb for Manchester City over the last 12 months.

Luke Shaw appears to be nailed on to start at left-back as he’s clearly Southgate’s preferred option in that position. Right-back may be slightly harder to predict though. With Trent Alexander-Arnold being deployed in midfield, Kyle Walker is currently favourite to start at right-back as he’s continued to showcase his best form for treble winners Man City. Kieran Tripper is probably next in line as he’s been outstanding for Newcastle and he could get the nod over Walker if the 31-year-old’s form drops this season.

Midfield: Alexander-Arnold has finally forced his way into Southgate’s plans – albeit in a new midfield role. The Liverpool youngster has been excellent since being pushed further forward and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him nail down his place for England ahead of the Euro’s.

Declan Rice is almost guaranteed to start in the defensive midfield position. The 24-year-old has just sealed a mega £105m move from West Ham to Arsenal and his game should be taken to a new level under Mikel Arteta. Rice is a true all-round midfielder and he’s expected to be one of the first names on Southgate’s team-sheet next year.

Jude Bellingham is also likely to be a guaranteed starter for his country. The youngster joined Real Madrid in a £90m deal this summer and he’s started life with a bang in Spain having scored three goals in his first two La Liga appearances.

Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips are among the names who are expected to be on the bench for England at the Euro’s.

Attack: Obviously Harry Kane will lead the line up front for the Three Lions. The 30-year-old joined Bayern Munich in a £80m deal this summer and he’s expected to continue to bang in the goals in Germany having scored on his debut last weekend. Kane is one of the best goal-scorers in world football and he’ll be the focal-point of England’s attack.

Saka is also expected to be a nailed-on starter for his country at the Euro’s. The 22-year-old has been outstanding for club and country over the past year and he’s likely to improve even further as he gets older and more experienced.

Marcus Rashford is favourite to start on the left wing as long as he continues to showcase his best form for Man Utd this season. Rashford was superb last campaign and could keep Jack Grealish out of the team at the Euro’s.

Other options for Southagte in attack are Wilson, Phil Foden and James Maddison, and who knows, we may see a breakout season from someone this campaign to force their way into the England squad at Euro 2024.

Here is how England could line-up at the Euro’s: