During England’s heavily criticized run to the Euro 2024 final, one of the big puzzles surrounded what former manager Gareth Southgate should do at left-back. Kieran Trippier played the majority of the tournament there before Luke Shaw returned for the final, but with the naturally right-footed player on the left of the Three Lions defence, imbalance was a constant problem , and the left wing of the British attack was neutralized. And that has been a persistent problem for some time. Long gone are the days of knowing that England have Ashley Cole, one of the best players in the world, adept at the left-back position. England have had four different left-backs as their main choice in the past five major tournaments. Perhaps if Shaw is lucky enough to endure a better injury record, he can provide some of that stability. But with just 12 league matches played in the last two seasons, and now 29 years old, the Manchester United man cannot be completely trusted. It will certainly be one of the areas where new manager Thomas Tuchel , who takes up his role as England head coach in January, will have the biggest headaches.

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Since Lee Carsley took over the interim role in August, he has played three different players at left-back in the four games he has been in charge of – none of whom are natural left-backs . In his opening match, midfielder Levi Colwill played there. In the second and third matches it was right-back Rico Lewis, and the most recent appearance was right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold on the left of defence. The Irishman will also take charge of Three Lions’ last two Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland during the international break this November. This time, he has actually chosen a natural left-back in the squad, and this could be a great opportunity for that man to assert his status.