ITV pundit Gary Neville felt there was better work on offer from England in the second half of their goalless draw against Slovenia
Gary Neville felt England improved against Slovenia after Gareth Southgate changed things up
Former England right-back Gary Neville believes current Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo will 'definitely' start for England in the round of 16.
Gareth Southgate made one change to his England line-up, seemingly ending his experimentation with Trent Alexander-Arnold in central midfield by bringing in Conor Gallagher to partner Declan Rice behind playmaker Jude Bellingham instead.
Gary Neville: Kobbie Mainoo should start England last 16 game
England produced little to nothing else of note for the rest of the half, but looked increasingly convincing as Southgate made numerous changes throughout the second half with Mainoo, Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon receiving particular praise.
The Manchester United midfielder got the longest outing, replacing Gallagher at the break, and his showing has convinced ITV pundit Neville that Mainoo will now get the chance to strut his stuff when England play their first - and, they hope, not last - knockout game in Gelsenkirchen this Sunday teatime.
Neville said: "I'm certain Mainoo will start in the next game. He thought Gallagher may be the option for the energy we talked about before the game, but I think it was quite obvious that we needed someone in that that would get us playing.
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Kobbie Mainoo brought something a bit different to the England side (Image credit: Getty Images)
"Mainoo does that, I think Wharton is capable of that as well, and I think the more substitutes we made, the less rigid we looked. We looked so basic in the first half, it was a struggle to watch that.
"It moved forward a lot in the second half. We didn't get the result, but there were sort of glimpses of what we can be."
England were roundly criticised for their performances after going ahead against Serbia and Denmark, managing to withstand periods of heavy pressure in the first game before being pegged back and held to a draw in the second, and played out a goalless draw against Slovenia in their final game.
In spite of the (very legitimate) criticism sent their way, England had already had their knockout stage place confirmed before kick-off, and now progress as the group leaders to face an as-yet-undetermined third-placed side in the next stage.
Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.
