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03rd Jun 2016

Glenn Hoddle’s preferred England Euro 2016 team just doesn’t make sense

Simon Lloyd

The last of the pre-tournament friendlies is out of the way and the inevitable ‘who should start for England’ debate is in full swing.

The underwhelming 1-0 win over Portugal on Thursday night cast doubts over whether the same 11 players selected by Roy Hodgson at Wembley would be chosen to start in the Euro 2016 opener against Russia next Saturday.

One man that seems to know exactly who should be given the nod in Marseille is former England manager Glenn Hoddle. Having co-commentated on the Portugal game with ITV, Hoddle was asked who he would choose to face Russia, and came up with the following team:

Opting for the same midfield diamond deployed by Hodgson against Portugal, England enthusiasts will also note that Hoddle has also named a near identical starting line-up.

And this is where it gets a bit odd.

The only change he has made from the England team chosen to face the Portuguese comes at right back, where he names Liverpool’s Nathaiel Clyne ahead of Kyle Walker.

So, did Walker have a particularly bad night? Well, not according to ITV he didn’t. The Spurs man was selected as man of the match for the game by, you guessed it, Glenn Hoddle.