Alan Shearer has called for Gareth Southgate to bring in Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon for England's round-of-16 showdown against Slovakia at Euro 2024.
The Three Lions topped Group C to reach the knockout stages of the tournament but the performances thus far have been anything but convincing from Southgate's side. A lack of cohesion, creativity and energy has been levied against the squad, who managed only one win and two draws on their way to the top of the group.
In England's final group stage match against Slovenia on Tuesday night, familiar foibles were once again on display throughout a turgid first-half but there was cause for some positivity at the final whistle despite the result.
Indeed, the introduction of Kobbie Mainoo at half-time for Conor Gallagher in midfield injected some life into an insipid performance. Gallagher had been called upon to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold following the failed experiment to shoehorn the right-back in midfield.
Joining Mainoo from the bench were Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon, the former arriving with 20 minutes remaining in regular time to replace Bukayo Saka while the latter arrived with just under five.
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Despite the limited time to show their worth, Palmer and Gordon - neither of whom had played a minute of the Euros before Tuesday - put in impressive and incisive cameos, with the duo almost combining for a goal late on shortly after Gordon's arrival.
The displays earned plenty of praise in post-match dissections and a number of fans and pundits have called for the attacking duo to be given a chance in the round of 16.
One such proponent was former England striker Shearer, who believed Palmer and Gordon should have been called upon earlier in the Slovenia stalemate while emphasising the need for Mainoo, Palmer and Gordon to be utilised on Sunday.
Cole Palmer impressed against Slovenia (Getty Images)Shearer told BBC One ahead of the Ukraine vs Belgium game: "He [Southgate] brought Mainoo on at half-time, I thought the other subs were left far too late.
"But all three had an effect on the game which is what they needed. I thought Mainoo was really good, he came into midfield and offered something totally different in midfield, winning the ball back, creating the option to receive the ball.
"This guy [Palmer] came in on the right hand side and looked really, really good. He had a big impact, his movement and confidence with the ball was brilliant. [Their combinations] we haven’t seen too much of that at all in the first two games, we certainty didn’t see it until Palmer came on.
Kobbie Mainoo impressed in midfield as a substitute against Slovenia (Getty Images)"You can see that passing forward with someone receiving it in a forward position. Then Gordon came on with three minutes. The three linked up really well. We saw more on that left hand side in those three or four minutes when Gordon came on than we’ve seen in the two or three games we’ve had.
"Absolutely no doubt about it, Gareth has to make changes, particularly on either side and definitely one in the middle of the park."
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