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16th June 2024
06:49pm BST
Speaking ahead of England's opener against Serbia on Sunday night, Roy Keane singled out an England player that he believes will get "ripped to shreds" versus the "top teams" at the tournament.
With the game at the Veltins Arena rapidly approaching Keane offered his opinion on ITV, speaking of a position in which he believes the Three Lions will come unstuck in later in the tournament:
"It’s all about getting the balance right in your team.
“They’ve got some brilliant individuals, we’ve mentioned that many times before. There are four or five players that would walk into any of the teams in this tournament but it’s getting that balance right.
“Talking about the defensive side of it, they have players who can go and win you football matches but it’s the problem with defending against the better teams.
“I think they’ll be fine in the group, I think Trent will be fine with his positioning in those matches, but it’s against the real top teams that I think he will be found out, very much so.
“In fact, I think he would be ripped to shreds if he plays against one of the better teams in central midfield. I don’t think he’d be up to it.”
No England player created more chances against Iceland than Trent Alexander-Arnold (3).
— BEASTLYSPORT⚽ (@Beastly_sport) June 8, 2024
He only played for 25 minutes 🎯 pic.twitter.com/TyRfwNXDDU
Keane isn't the only one that believes England will become unstuck in the midfield of the park, with Wayne Rooney doing so too.
Earlier this week on Stick to Football, Rooney stated: “I wouldn’t have him (Trent) anywhere near the middle of the pitch. I’d have no problem with him playing at right-back."
Southgate responded to those comments backing Liverpool's star:
“Everybody’s more than entitled to opinions.
“That’s our world, we have to accept that. Then we have to go and show what we can do.
“I’m really happy, I spoke to Trent about playing in this role just over a year ago now. It’s something he’s been really keen to do, he’s been really receptive to every bit of feedback and information he can.”
Alexander-Arnold created the most chances in the midfield position versus Iceland (3) despite only playing 25 minutes.
