Gary Lineker was left wondering why Gareth Southgate did not fancy using John Stones in a similar way to Pep Guardiola, as England lost to Brazil on Saturday night.
The Three Lions lost 1-0 at Wembley, producing a poor performance.
Substitute Endrick grabbed the game’s only goal late on and it was a deserved victory for Brazil, who created more meaningful opportunities in the game compared to England.
After losing Kyle Walker to injury, England had a hard time breaking their opponents down, and seemed to lack ideas and creativity.
There were no real glaring opportunities, with Brazil defending compactly.
Lineker was left slightly frustrated by the performance, and made a point about Gareth Southgate’s use of John Stones…
Gary Lineker questions Gareth Southgate about his use of Manchester City star John Stones for England
This season, City fans have again watched John Stones play in a hybrid role.
The 29-year-old has had injury issues and has had spells out, but when he’s played he’s been fantastic.
When playing for City, he often pushes into midfield alongside Rodri to help City control games. But just lately, we have been seeing him push even higher than usual – and him squeezing up in this way makes life very hard for the opposition.
Lineker has enjoyed watching Stones do this at club level.
But there was no sign of the £250,000-a-week star doing it against Brazil, and the Match of the Day host was left to wonder why.
He said on the Rest Is Football podcast: “I just wonder, you know, just be a little bit braver in terms of them midfield areas. Take the great Spanish team that won three consecutive tournaments. The best form of defence is by keeping the ball and maintaining it. That’s obviously Pep Guardiola’s thing.
“For example, I never really saw John Stones break into their half, rather than go up for corners and stuff. We’ve seen him in a position now (at City) where you see him all over the pitch.
“Would you want to copy a little bit of those sort of tactics? Or do you think ‘Right no, this is the way we’re playing, it’s got us very close so far, we keep knocking on the door and eventually it will open’.
It’s too risky
We all want England to be a bit braver and a bit more exciting to watch. Given the quality in that squad, it is a travesty to see the brand of football on show sometimes.
But having John Stones – a player Kobbie Mainoo recently branded ‘too smooth’ – playing the role he plays for City for England could just be a bit too risky.
England are not the same possession side as City and don’t control games as well. Stones pushing up potentially leaves the Three Lions exposed at the back. Especially since Harry Maguire, a player with precisely zero recovery pace, would be back there in the middle.
It is something that could be worked on in the future.
But certainly at the moment, with England heading to Euro 2024 in just a few months, it is something that probably should be shelved. Because there are too many other things you need to put in place for it to work.
