Former England defender Stuart Pearce says Gareth Southgate should contemplate dropping captain Harry Kane.
Kane scored the opener in a 1-1 Euro 2024 draw with Denmark on Thursday but came under heavy criticism for his performance as England limped towards qualification to the knockout stages.
A draw against Slovenia on Tuesday will likely be good enough for Southgate’s men to book a place in the last 16, but Pearce says he would not pick the country’s record goalscorer.
Asked on talkSPORT whether he would drop Kane, Pearce, who was caretaker England manager for a game against the Netherlands in 2012, said: “To be honest with you, I think I would.
“To get more energy in the team, to get someone to run in behind the opposition’s defence and then you review it again when you get to the knockout stage.
“Where he (Southgate) goes from here I don’t know. This is a tough one for Gareth and his coaching staff.
“It might be making some tough calls, it might be leaving the captain [Harry Kane] out. It might well be, ‘How do I solve the left-back issue?’
“How do we get more delivery from the left-hand side with no natural left-back? Potentially put a Bukayo Saka there.”
But Jamie Carragher believes Kane, who took his international tally to 64 goals against Denmark, remains “untouchable” and wants Southgate to deploy a system that will get the best out of his prolific striker.
“England need to rethink and zone in on helping the players who have no like-for-like replacements in the squad: Kane and Declan Rice,” former Liverpool defender Carragher wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
“Kane correctly remains one of the untouchables – a world-class striker. His best work for England is with two pacey wide men. I would like to see a 4-3-3 with Saka and Anthony Gordon either side of Kane.
“Rice is the only proven and high-class holding midfielder Southgate has, but, in the first two games, he has been overworked and, at times, overrun.
“He has never looked so exhausted as he did in the second half against the Danes. He had far too much ground to cover and Danish players started to surround him when in possession.”
Carragher believes the Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment in midfield will now end and says the Liverpool right-back and Phil Foden will be “sacrificed”.
“Unfortunately, two of the best Premier League footballers – Trent Alexander-Arnold and Phil Foden – will have to be sacrificed now,” he said.
“The team’s set-up is not getting the best from them, or their team-mates.
“Gareth Southgate is encountering what has been an age-old problem for every England manager since 1966. You look at the squad going into a Euros and World Cup, see a talented group who perform well for their club, and you become seduced by the idea of bringing them all together.”