There was a time, not even a year ago, when the nation complained about how Reece James, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier, and Ben Chilwell couldn’t find a way into England’s starting eleven. England had too many good full-backs. So, how’s that going now?

James has played in just 24 Premier League appearances across the last two seasons, and Alexander-Arnold has now found himself competing for a starting place in midfield. Luke Shaw is now out for the remainder of the season and only has a fighting chance of recovering for Euro 2024. That leaves England with just three seasoned international full-backs in Trippier, Chilwell and Kyle Walker. 

It’s safe to say that a combination of England game time and positional concerns would suggest Trippier and Walker start on the left and right of England’s defence, respectively, if options remain as they are. Chilwell could start and play well, but starting Chilwell changes England’s whole approach to matches, with Trippier a much more similar Shaw replacement. 

Gareth Southgate doesn’t see Chilwell as a traditional left-back anymore. If you think of the role of Southgate’s full-backs in possession, he likes them to be able to perform at least two of the following three functions:

  1. Pushing high and wide to overlap the winger.
  2. Inverting to become a quasi-midfielder (more of a half-back).
  3. Tucking in to form a temporary back-three when necessary.

For this reason, England’s full-backs are level with each other during build-up. They can come inside, drop back, and maraud forward, too. 

Southgate thinks Chilwell can only do one of these, the first. And while he may be one of the best at this in European football, Southgate isn’t a fan of the one-dimensional nature of Chilwell’s game. There are a few reasons for this. 

Below is a representation of how England typically look in possession when Chilwell plays at left-back. England instead build up with a back-three, and Chilwell pushes high. This allows the left-winger to float into the middle of the pitch. If this were Phil Foden at Euro 2024, that would work beautifully on paper. Similarly with Maddison. However, it’s never played out that way. England used this tactic in both of their qualifiers against Ukraine in 2023, and because the same movements occurred every time England progressed, it became too obvious, and the centre-backs couldn’t find anyone further forward. 

Equally, when Chilwell plays at left-back, England require a very mobile and preferably left-footed centre-back. Harry Maguire is not that player, and he could be left exposed one-on-one with a nippy winger. 

Finally, you can’t have a left-back who always pushes up if you don’t have a right-back who always tucks into a back-three. Kyle Walker has enjoyed more freedom in his role at Manchester City this season, and England have begun to use this to their advantage during wins against Scotland and Italy. The reality is Walker would be very restricted if Chilwell played at left-back, which again only limits the number of dimensions England can have to their game.