4 conclusions drawn from England's early World Cup auditions
England was growing accustomed to Gareth Southgate's designs in Friday's 1-0 win in the Netherlands and Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Italy, but there are still many decisions to be made before the country's World Cup opener against Tunisia.
The Three Lions could be the most interesting team to track over the coming months, as Southgate tries to assemble a puzzle of sprightly attackers, scant midfield options, inexperienced defenders, and four goalkeepers squabbling for the No. 1 shirt.
Was there much to be gleaned from March's friendlies? Here are four early conclusions from Southgate's experiments before June's big kick-off:
Versatility a must
Southgate believes Kyle Walker has the attributes required to play on the right of a back-three, citing how the full-back regularly slides into a central position and shares an understanding with John Stones in Pep Guardiola's fluid Manchester City system.
And without a clear central defensive partnership, Southgate needs to be canny with his tactics. That means strengthening with a defensive trio, selecting players familiar with a variety of positions, like Walker, Joe Gomez, and Eric Dier, and being prepared to change his schematic during matches.
"To have two or three systems, which we can change in-game, is important," Southgate said on Saturday. "It makes the opposition have to prepare different things. In the modern game, you need to be adaptable."
Several other players stand a good chance of making the final squad due to their versatility. Ashley Young can play on either side as a full-back or wing-back, but made his name as a winger-cum-forward; Fabian Delph is a holding midfielder by trade, but has recently flourished as an ersatz left-back; and Dier is adept in defence or midfield.
The days of shoehorning players into a stubborn 4-4-2 are over. Southgate wants variety.
Lingard makes case with alert showings
Following generations of national team players averse to taking risks, Jesse Lingard's opportunistic style was refreshing.
Raheem Sterling will be praised for his directness and perseverance against Italy, but it was Lingard who had the awareness to put his hand on the ball and quickly play a free-kick to an unmarked Jamie Vardy.
The Manchester United product's assist came four days after his first goal for England. That time, the ball deflected invitingly to the edge of the box, but Lingard didn't overthink his chance, confidently pinging it into the corner. No wonder he's scored so many important goals for his club.
Barring injury, Harry Kane's role spearheading the attack will go unchallenged, but these two friendlies have shown a blossoming relationship between Sterling and Lingard in the inside-forward positions.
Dele Alli and Marcus Rashford have some work to do.
Wing-back positions up for grabs
Danny Rose hasn't imposed himself on Tottenham Hotspur's starting XI since shaking off injury problems, and, drawing on Friday's evidence, it will be the same story on the international stage.
Football365 dubbed him England's worst player in Amsterdam, reflecting that "he actively stunted a number of promising moves" and "his delivery was painfully off-kilter."
The other choices on the left are Young, followed by players who weren't in the latest squad, like Delph, Luke Shaw, Aaron Cresswell, and Ryan Bertrand. Considering Rose's struggles, it could be between the latter and Young to make the left-back berth their own.
Things didn't fare much better for Spurs teammate Kieran Trippier on the other side against the Netherlands. Walker was impressive in the back-three, but with Trippier plagued by indecision, it felt wasteful to have the City man's pace impeded in a defence-first role.
Pickford takes early lead in goalkeeping race
Jack Butland didn't have a great deal to do in the Italy friendly, meaning Jordan Pickford's obvious ease on Friday puts him in pole position to be first choice between the sticks in Russia.
A well-trodden argument is that goalkeepers need to feel settled in their position and behind their defenders to reach top form - an example being Loris Karius' shakiness for Liverpool before overhauling Simon Mignolet on a full-time basis - but Butland believes the competition at England is bringing the best out of each shot-stopper.
"It's a great way to go into a World Cup. Whoever is selected will be coming in off a battle, which is what you want. It's a positive situation to be in," Butland said over the weekend.
While Pickford couldn't regularly produce his lush, flat kicks up the park, his short exchanges were tidy and are better than any of those of his rivals in the England camp. Southgate, a keen supporter of passing from the back, will have taken note.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)