The Ultimate Lineup: Revealing England's Game-Changing Squad Against Italy
Gareth Southgate's latest England squad features Jordan Henderson, Kalvin Phillips, and Harry Maguire, while debuts go to Jarrod Bowen, Ollie Watkins, Eddie Nketiah, and Levi Colwill against Australia Raheem Sterling, Nick Pope, and James Ward-Prowse are omitted, while Bukayo Saka withdraws Find out what the stats say and what's next for England
Use our interactive team selector to choose your preferred starting XI for England's upcoming match against Italy. After their 1-0 victory over Australia in a friendly at Wembley on Friday, The Three Lions are now preparing for their Euro 2024 qualifier on Tuesday.
Ollie Watkins scored the winning goal from close range in a hard-fought victory against Australia, with Gareth Southgate's team making several changes. However, the visitors were left disappointed by their missed chances.
Jordan Henderson retained his place in the starting lineup after his move to Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia during the summer. Levi Colwill, the Chelsea defender, made his first senior appearance as a left-back, and Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah also made his debut as a substitute.
Sam Johnstone got the nod between the sticks, with Trent Alexander-Arnold starting at right-back - while Fikayo Tomori and Lewis Dunk formed a partnership in central defence.
James Maddison was given the chance to play in the central No 10 position, which is his preferred role. Conor Gallagher, a regular player for Chelsea, started in a deeper No 6 position.
In addition, Southgate made substitutions, bringing in several regular players from the bench. This included John Stones, who had just returned from being out of play, Kieran Trippier, Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden, and Kalvin Phillips.
What do the stats say?
What should the line-up for England's match against Italy be, taking into account the players and system that have proven successful in the past? Utilize our interactive tool to handpick your team and share it on X - formerly known as Twitter - @SkyFootball.According to the We Power Rankings, the team composition under Southgate would be significantly altered from his typical line-ups. This ranking system assigns points to players based on 35 matchday statistics. Surprisingly, half of the starting XI consists of players who have rarely or never been utilized by Southgate throughout his tenure. Leading the team sheet are Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who recently secured significant transfers to Bayern Munich and Real Madrid respectively.
Trippier and uncapped Dan Burn (both Newcastle) occupy the full-back positions, with Ben White (Arsenal) and James Tarkowski (Everton) claiming the centre-back spots.
Starting for Arsenal as a midfielder and a regular for the England team is Declan Rice. The midfield trio is completed by Bellingham and Ward-Prowse.
When it comes to options for attacking down the flanks, England is inundated with talent. However, Bowen stands out above all the competition on the right channel, while Maddison secures his spot on the left after an impressive start with Tottenham, following his £40m transfer from Leicester this summer. Up top, Kane leads the line with Watkins as a backup option.
England's October squad in full
Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal).
Defenders: Chelsea's Levi Colwill, Brighton's Lewis Dunk, Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi, Manchester United's Harry Maguire, Manchester City's John Stones, AC Milan's Fikayi Tomori, Newcastle's Kieran Trippier, and Manchester City's Kyle Walker.
Midfielders: Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham, Chelsea's Conor Gallagher, Al-Ettifaq's Jordan Henderson, Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips, and Arsenal's Declan Rice.
What's coming up for England?
Forwards: West Ham's Jarrod Bowen, Manchester City's Phil Foden, Manchester City's Jack Grealish, Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, Tottenham's James Maddison, Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah, Manchester United's Marcus Rashford, and Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins are the players representing England in their next outing against Italy on Tuesday October 17th; kick-off at 7.45pm.In November, they face Malta at home (November 17; kick-off 7.45pm), before a trip to North Macedonia (November 20; kick-off 7.45pm.
