The question is the same as it always has been; why does England think using the non-elite option is not acceptable?
England is far from alone in putting reputation ahead of practicality.
From the Brazil sides fronted by overweight out-of-form big names to the missteps of unbalanced French teams, picking a lineup based on star quality alone can be seductive.
But it’s hard to think of any other nation with the same track record of putting players out of position as the Three Lions.
From the early 1990s through to the late 2000s England was plagued with a ‘left-sided problem’-an apparent lack of talented players down one side of the pitch.
As soon as Chris Waddle stopped being selected for the national team the left midfield role was consistently occupied by a player adapting their game for the national team.
Whether it was the twinkling toes of Steve McManaman or the tenacity of Dennis Wise there was no escaping the fact, however talented the individual might be, this was not their natural role.
Sometimes the entire system was adapted to cope with the lack of left footers. Playing a 3-5-2 formation meant only a solitary wingback was required on either flank, which the English could about muster.
However such innovations were rare and short-lived. When generational talent Paul Scholes walked away from international soccer for being shoehorned into a role on the left flank he was replaced by the mercurial up-and-coming star Joe Cole, who also looked lost.
England’s current coach Gareth Southgate played throughout the left-sided problem era so it is beyond ironic that, as the national team manager, he has found himself in with almost identical problem.
His squad for Euro 2024 featured only one left-back, Luke Shaw, a player who the coach himself admitted had a woeful injury record he was risking at a major tournament.
