Midfield
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Players picked: Dele Alli, Ross Barkley, Fabian Delph, Danny Drinkwater, Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling, Jack Wilshere, Andros Townsend
At the base of the midfield diamond, Hodgson would be wise to go with Eric Dier. The Spurs defensive midfielder’s ability to play in central defence if required makes him a valuable asset to the squad. Dier is not an easy player to dispossess and his superiority in aerial duels makes him the ideal player to play in front of the centre-backs when teams try to employ a long ball strategy.
In front of Dier, Hodgson should go with Danny Drinkwater and Dele Alli. Drinkwater has been a revelation this season in Leicester City’s midfield and is a good passer of the ball with the ability to find forwards with precise through balls, especially on the counter-attack. His seven assists will attest to that.
Jack Wilshere would have been an automatic selection over Alli if the Arsenal midfielder had at least 15 games under his belt this season. The young Englishman has only just returned from injury and still lacks the match sharpness to slot into the squad immediately. But nobody can carry the ball from defence to attack better than him when he is on fire.
Alli, on the other hand, was also selected into the PFA Team of the Year with 10 goals and 9 assists this season. His understanding with Harry Kane saw the striker score 7 goals from his assists alone. An all-round player with the ability to contribute on both ends of the pitch, Wilshere will be selected over him only if he impresses enough in the upcoming friendlies.
Hodgson’s biggest dilemma is where to slot in Wayne Rooney. While he hasn’t had the best of seasons with a return of only seven goals (the first time in his Manchester United career he has scored less than 10 league goals in a season), there is no chance he will drop his captain and England’s leading goalscorer.
Which is why Rooney playing in a deeper attacking role makes sense since he won’t be played as a forward. With the lack of an out-and-out playmaker in the squad, Rooney would be the best bet to play behind the two strikers. Hodgson’s experiment of deploying Rooney on the wing in the World Cup yielded negative results and playing him in between the lines would be a better bet.
Hodgson has rarely played a 4-2-3-1, so Adam Lallana and Raheem Sterling will find it hard to get into the side unless they are chasing a game. Ross Barkley has also had a below-par season, as did most of his Everton colleagues, and will be on the bench.
