Saka vs Foden and Grealish vs Mount: Which England stars have made biggest impact as Southgate faces last 16 dilemmas?
IT wasn’t always pretty, but England have made it through to the last 16 of Euro 2020.
The Three Lions only scored twice in the group stage – in 1-0 wins over Croatia and Czech Republic, while drawing 0-0 with Scotland.
Of course, there are plenty of positives – including conceding NONE.
But arguably England’s biggest positive is also a major problem – their squad depth.
Gareth Southgate rotated his starting XI fairly heavily for the final group game against the Czechs.
And strong showings from Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka suddenly put Mason Mount and Phil Foden‘s places in the team in jeopardy.
So who should Southgate plump for in the monster last 16 clash at Wembley against either France, Germany, Portugal or Hungary?
We’ve crunched the numbers to get to the bottom of it…
MASON MOUNT vs JACK GREALISH
MOUNT missed the final group game after he was forced to isolate for ten days after coming into close contact with Covid-hit Billy Gilmour following the draw with Scotland.
In his absence, Southgate used the excuse to start Grealish in the No10 role against Czech Republic – with fans excited he’d finally been given a chance from the first whistle.
The Aston Villa captain looked lively from the get-go, with his cross leading to Raheem Sterling scoring the winner.
And while Grealish staked his claim for a starting spot in the last 16, the stats suggest Mount is the better all-round player.
In nearly twice as many minutes, Mount has taken three shots to Grealish’s 0.
Grealish is taking marginally more touches per minute played with 0.64, compared to Mount’s 0.63.
The Villa ace is also making more successful passes per minute on 0.38 compared to the Chelsea man’s 0.32.
However, Mount has embarked on more dribbles with eight – to Grealish’s three.
The Blues supremo has also completed five successful tackles with Grealish failing to record a single one.
For sheer excitement and a moment of magic, it seems Grealish is Southgate’s man.
But for a dependable player at both ends across 90 minutes – particularly against the big boys of Europe – Southgate may opt for Mount, with Grealish’s best chance of getting in the team being starting on the wing.
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PHIL FODEN vs BUKAYO SAKA
HAVING started the first two matches, Foden was left out of the squad entirely for the third and final game.
It’s claimed the Manchester City star was dropped as he already had a yellow card to his name, with Southgate looking to protect him for the knockout stages.
In his place, Saka enjoyed his first minutes of the tournament and looked lively throughout.
The Arsenal ace was energetic on the right wing, always happy to take on his man and regularly tracking back to provide cover for Kyle Walker when the right-back drifted inside.
In fact, in just 84 minutes of action, Saka completed more dribbles (six) than Foden has in the entire tournament (five).
Comfortable in defence – having played left-back many times for Arsenal – Saka made one successful tackle on Tuesday, with Foden yet to get stuck in this summer.
Foden has taken one shot – hitting the post against Scotland – while Saka is yet to have an effort on goal.
But Saka is taking more touches per minute at 0.62 to Foden’s 0.52, with the City man enjoying more passes than his team-mate.
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Much like with Mount and Grealish, Southgate could turn to Saka if he wants a little more defensive cover and more versatility.
But for that spark, that X-factor, Foden could be the one to get the nod.
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