Danny Murphy Exclusive: England’s Vulnerable Defence Worries Me
In an exclusive interview with bestonlinepokersites.ltd, former England and Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy issued concerns over England’s defence ahead of their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia…
- England’s defence is vulnerable
- Eze making squad over Grealish was ‘no brainer’
- Dunk backed to start alongside Guehi against Serbia
France and Netherlands Have Better Defenders Than England
England have a wealth of attacking qualities in their squad but Danny Murphy is concerned that Gareth Southgate’s options in defence are not at the level of some of their rivals in Euro 2024;
Danny Murphy: “I’m not convinced [England] will win it from a personnel point of view. I think defensively we’re still a little bit short. We can look vulnerable at times. And when you compare ours to the French defence, some of their players are outstanding. And Holland with Van de Ven, Virgil van Dijk, De Ligt, Ake and Dumfries. If England were going to the Euros with Van Dijk and Van de Ven at centre half, I think we’d be pretty confident. The difference with Holland is they don’t have our forward players. I think defensively, we’re a little bit vulnerable. So I’m not super confident, no.”
Picking Eze Over Grealish Was a ‘No Brainer’ for Southgate
Some of Jack Grealish’s teammates were reportedly shocked by his omission from the Three Lions 26-man squad last week. Murphy, however, applauded Southgate’s decision to leave the City winger out in favour of Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze;
Danny Murphy: “It’s a little bit of a surprise, only because [Grealish] has got tournament experience and the experience of playing in huge games for Manchester City. But if you break it down, there’s nothing Grealish can do that Eze can’t do. Eze is physically brilliant and strong as an ox. You can’t knock him off the ball. He goes past people similar to Grealish, but his end product is better at the moment. So if you’re looking at that and you’re watching Eze, and they’re seeing him train, and we’re not, of course, but if you look at the end of the season form it’s a no brainer.”
Lewis Dunk Can Neutralise Serbian Threat of Mitrovic & Vlahovic
Serbia will test England’s defensive strength with their powerful strike duo of Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic, and Murphy reckons Brighton’s Lewis Dunk will get the nod alongside Marc Guehi due to his physical prowess;
Danny Murphy: “I’ve got a feeling that Lewis Dunk might start, mainly because of Vlahovic and Mitrovic and the physicality of those two. You’re not going to come up against two as physically strong as those two. Dunk being 6’3, 6’4. At set plays he’s very similar to Harry Maguire in many ways, in terms of his attributes and weaknesses. So I would think [England’s starting XI will be] Walker, Dunk, Guehi and Trippier will play left back by all accounts, because Shaw’s not ready.”
