Rooney said: “None of what happened in the group stage surprised me. I would never have played Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield“
By Kehinde Okeowo
Manchester United legend, Wayne Rooney has said England boss, Gareth Southgate had an underwhelming performance at the group stage of the Euro 2024 because he “killed” two players in their first three matches.
Rooney made this known recently while discussing the Three Lions’ outing so far at the tournament with UK Times.
England went into Euro 2024 looking to lift their first major trophy in men’s football since 1966, when they won the World Cup.
However, Southgate’s men laboured to a 1-0 win over Serbia and failed to beat Denmark and Slovenia.
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Following the disappointing performances, the England boss came under heavy criticism for his tactics, with Rooney claiming he “killed” Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Gallagher by throwing them both into midfield before quickly “discarding” them.
Speaking on the matches they have played so far, he said: “None of what happened in the group stage surprised me. I would never have played Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield and expected that, when the experiment didn’t work, Gareth would try Conor Gallagher.
“Gareth killed both a bit by discarding them, but in each case, it was the right call and when Mainoo came in you saw him making forward runs and showing composure on the ball.
“Palmer? He is just suited to international football. He can take the ball, he’s calm on it and has the personality you need on that stage. Gordon is more direct than the other two and ensures there is a good blend.”