Gareth Southgate’s player selection has been a topic of debate among football fans, with many expressing their dissatisfaction with his choices. However, in this article, we take a different approach and select a hypothetical England XI based on this season’s Dream Team points.
To ensure a semi-realistic structure, we had to intervene on occasion and exclude players who would be unsuitable for certain positions. For instance, Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is among the top four defenders in terms of points, misses out because he would be unsuitable as a centre-back.
In goal, Aaron Ramsdale takes the gloves for us due to his 86 points, which is 40 more than Jordan Pickford has mustered. Ramsdale is neck-and-neck with Newcastle’s Nick Pope in the race for the Golden Glove, with both contributing to 12 clean sheets in the Premier League so far this season.
Our defence consists of Kieran Trippier, Ben White, Dan Burn, and Luke Shaw. Trippier, Shaw, and White make up the podium places among Dream Team defenders this season, suggesting that England has in-form players at their disposal in defence. Interestingly, Southgate’s long-established first-choice partnership of John Stones and Harry Maguire are nowhere near our line-up.
Our midfielders are Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, James Ward-Prowse, and Solly March. Saka is nailed-on at right wing as the only Premier League player with 10+ goals and 10+ assists to his name at this stage of the campaign. Foden will be our No10, meaning Ward-Prowse will have to sit. Southampton’s skipper has done brilliantly to amass 99 points given his side’s place in the table (20th) and of course he’ll be on free-kicks. March is our other winger having registered 115 points.
Harry Kane is our top marksman, with Ivan Toney joining him upfront. Marcus Rashford would have led the line for us had he not withdrawn from the squad with an injury problem.
Overall, this hypothetical England XI may not be realistic, but it is based on the Dream Team rankings and highlights the in-form players that England has at its disposal.