Should this Manchester United defender start for England at Euro 2016?

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With the recent debates surrounding who should fill England’s attacking positions, the defensive line-up has somewhat gone under the radar. Since the tournament to forget at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, England manager Roy Hodgson has experimented with a number of centre-backs, including Manchester United’s Chris Smalling. This has led The Three Lions to some success, securing a place at this year’s European Championships in France after an unprecedented 100% win record in qualifying. With this being said, has Smalling been the catalyst to England’s success, and can he lead the back line in what is currently an exciting time for England?

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The centre-back from Old Trafford only featured in 4 of England’s 10 qualifying games, starting 3 of them. Compare this to Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka, players who have heavily featured in Roy Hodgson’s plans, made and 8 and 6 appearances respectively. Despite the fact that Smalling is not the most experienced centre-back in the squad, at this moment in time he is probably the most all rounded performer in his required position. His season at Manchester United has been very impressive and, when fit, has cemented his place as Louis van Gaal’s first choice defender. It really does feel like he understands that the time is right to cement his position not only for his club, but for his country as well, and solid performances are only going to increase his chances.

This was all on show during the recent Manchester Derby at the Etihad Stadium, where the 26 year-old put in a man of the match performance in a 0-1 away victory. Although it was the young starlet Marcus Rashford who made the headlines for scoring the winning and only goal, Smalling put in a simple but effective performance that really symbolised where he is right now in his career. Although, like a year before, he should’ve been sent off by referee Mark Oliver for a second bookable offence, but overall his performance had a lot of maturity to it.

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His ability to clear up from the back with real confidence is something that must have caught the eye of Roy Hodgson. What was also really refreshing to see was the improvements that he has made to his game that has helped stabilize the Manchester United back four, conceding just 27 goals in the league this season – a feat that can be only bettered by Tottenham Hotspur.

His overall positioning has come on leaps and bounds which notably payed off in the match. Not only did he make 6 clearances throughout the match, his 3 blocks were crucial in securing 3 points, subsequently closing the gap on Manchester City and 4^th position to just 1 point. His goal saving block in the 64^th minute from Wilfried Bony showed what being a Manchester United centre-back is all about; throwing yourself in front of the ball and fighting for the cause. If City grabbed an equalizer at that point, the game could’ve swung totally in their favour. Fortunately, for fans from Old Trafford, this didn’t happen, especially in such an important game for The Red Devils in their ambition for Champions League football next year. Sure, his passing accuracy wasn’t at a level that you’d expect from a top centre-back with a completion rate of 79%, but doesn’t this show that he knows when to clear his lines?

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In comparison to other defenders that could possibly fill the role for England’s first Euro 2016 group stage encounter against Russia, you’d have to say that Smalling gets the nod at this moment in time. On a regular basis you hear pundits blast John Stones’ lack of awareness and urgency and, although very talented, could miss out on a starting place due to this factor alone. Phil Jagielka is now 33 years old and, on 38 caps, could be entering the back end of his England career. You’d think he’ll be picked for the squad because his contribution in qualifying, but his lack of pace could surrender his starting XI spot. Gary Cahill, on the other hand, has that little bit extra to offer and been a prominent fixture in the squad since the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. He’s also done it all in the domestic game, too – He’s the quickest player in the Premiership era to win all the major domestic trophies, taking just three years. If he and Smalling can form a partnership that can cement the back four, not only will if give licence for the attacking players to show their qualities, but will give England a better chance of progressing to the latter stages of Euro 2016. With international friendlies on the horizon, we shall see if Chris Smalling can relish his opportunity to shine.

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