Gareth Southgate faces several key selection decisions ahead of England’s huge World Cup last-16 tie with Senegal on Sunday.
The Three Lions breezed through the opening phase of the tournament in Qatar despite a turgid goalless draw with the United States that was flanked by dominant wins over Iran and Wales in which they plundered a record of nine goals.
Southgate picked an unchanged team for England’s opening pair of matches, but swapped four for the final Group B assignment, a much-hyped ‘Battle of Britain’ against Gareth Bale and Co.
In came Kyle Walker, Jordan Henderson, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford, replacing Kieran Trippier, Mason Mount, Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling, with a four-man defence named once again.
And after a slow first half those changes eventually paid off nicely after the interval, with the in-form Rashford bagging a brace either side of an effort from Foden, whose omission versus the USA had been much bemoaned.
With no known injury worries to contend with, and only Ben White unavailable after leaving England’s camp and returning home for personal reasons, Southgate has a number of dilemmas to ponder ahead of the knockout stages.
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Speaking on Saturday, the Three Lions boss offered few hints as to who he would be picking.
“It is a good position to be in,” he said. “You want your players in a confident mood and our forward players are.
“Of course you want to try and make the best possible decision, but in some respects I am not sure there is a right or a wrong.
Whichever players we start with, we are going to need the bench and they all offer different attributes.
“It’s just trying to get the balance of the team right and make the best possible decisions.
But for us, we have got the whole squad fit and available. We are feeling good about ourselves.”
Rashford seems certain to keep his place with three goals already, but Sterling could well come back in for Foden, with Henderson potentially staying alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in a three-man midfield.
John Stones and Harry Maguire are established as the first-choice centre-back pairing, with Southgate needing to decide between Trippier and Walker on the right if he sticks with a back four.
Senegal’s biggest concern comes in the dugout. Manager Aliou Cisse was unable to take the pre-match press conference due to illness and could miss the game.
Still, they will see no reason to change too much after they managed what was effectively the first knockout game of the tournament perfectly on Monday, outlasting Ecuador in a shootout for second place in Group A.
However, they will be forced into at least one alteration against England.
Everton midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye picked up his second yellow card of the tournament against La Tri, so will serve a one-match suspension with the slate not wiped clean until before the quarter-finals.
Aliou Cisse will ponder Gueye’s replacement against England, with the former Paris Saint-Germain man deployed in a more advanced role for his country than he typically plays at club level.
His replacement, with Cheikhou Kouyate out injured, could well be Porto’s Mamadou Loum, who has endured a hit-and-miss season so far on loan with Reading in England’s second tier.
Or alternatively, Tottenham’s Pape Matar Sarr could well step into a key role behind a dangerous attack consisting of Watford star Ismaila Sarr, Sheffield United’s Iliman Ndiaye and Boulaye Dia.
England Possible Lineup(4-3-3):
Pickford;
Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Shaw;
Rice, Bellingham, Henderson;
Rashford, Kane, Sterling.
Senegal Possible Lineup (4-2-3-1):
E Mendy;
Sabaly, Koulibaly, Diallo, Jakobs;
Ciss, P. Gueye;
P. Sarr, Ndiaye, I. Sarr; Dia.
