"Why England Should Consider Dropping Declan Rice and Opting for Two Strikers Against Panama – The Risks of Underestimating the Underdogs"

ENGLAND endured a miserable time in the 0-0 stalemate against Ghana – and now need a serious response.

‘s side have already qualified for the last 32 with the pressure off on that front, at least.

Thomas Tuchel has some massive tactical questions to answer ahead of Panama Credit: Getty Ollie Watkins or Ivan Toney could be utilised alongside Harry Kane in a front two Credit: Getty

But the Three Lions will want to make a statement and leave their rival quaking ahead of the knockout stage.

After all, nobody wants to limp into the next round on the back of a flat, uninspired performance, leaving terrified fans to pile on the pressure.

‘s final group game is against at New York’s MetLife Stadium on Saturday with a mountain of unanswered questions swirling around the camp.

It’s time to get the goals flowing again, put on a show for the travelling fans, and build some genuine momentum.

Even a chaotic, high-scoring 3-2 victory would be vastly preferable to the slow, sideways-passing car crash we witnessed last time out as .

Earlier this week on Proper Football Daily, England legend dropped a massive hint that it might be time for a shake-up.

The 96-cap veteran suggested giving the likes of and a proper run-out to get crucial minutes into their legs ahead of the knockouts.

And you know what? He is absolutely spot on. A lot of these players have endured an exhausting, gruelling domestic season, and right now, certain big stars look like they desperately need a rest and a psychological reset.

Panama will sit incredibly deep in a stubborn 5-4-1 formation, which immediately triggers nightmare flashbacks of Ghana parking the bus.

But instead of banging our heads against another defensive brick wall, England can exploit this game to unleash a terrifying new tactical blueprint.

SunSport’s tactics guru Dean Scoggins explains exactly how Tuchel can break down Panama’s low block and ignite his side’s tournament.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

We know loves to drop deep into those creative pockets to dictate play, but against a heavily compressed low block, that often leaves England with zero presence inside the 18-yard box.

To solve the problem of not having enough bodies in the box, it is time to go with a bold two-up-top system.

Partnering Kane with either or offers completely different tactical profiles, but both options would give England a devastating double box threat.

If we select Toney, we get a pure, old-school box striker who operates a bit like Erling Haaland; he might not do a whole lot off the ball, but the second a cross enters the penalty area, he is alive, peeling off the back of defenders to cause absolute chaos.

I like the idea of another striker. Either Toney with a big profile in the box, or Watkins running down the channel, just to give England that double box threat.

However, if you want to truly dismantle a back five, I prefer the channel-running threat of Watkins.

Think back to Haaland in the Dortmund Stadium during the Euro semi-finals – Watkins constantly darts into the half-spaces between the centre-backs and wing-backs, dragging defenders out of position and opening up massive gaps for to exploit.

On the wings, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford should be unleashed from the start.

has had two cracks at the whip, and , despite being a bright spark against Ghana, struggles immensely against deep, compressed defences where he routinely runs out of pitch in tight spaces.

Instead, we could see deployed on the right flank, a role Thomas Tuchel has experimented with previously.

With Rogers cutting inside onto his stronger foot, we can push an overlapping full-back like high up the right wing to deliver the crosses our strikers crave.

Meanwhile, Nico O’Reilly inverts from the left into central midfield to create a tight passing triangle and maintain perfect tactical balance.

Toney and Watkins both bring something different to England’s attack Credit: Getty Declan Rice needs a break with one of him or Elliot Anderson sitting out the match Credit: Getty

PIVOT PROBLEMS

One of the biggest issues against Ghana was a distinct lack of bravery in central midfield.

At one point, we saw Marc Guehi pushing high up to support Rashford, O’Reilly dropping deep, and both and sitting right in front of the defence.

It was far too cautious against an opponent that shouldn’t frighten us on the counter-attack.

Against Panama, we absolutely do not need a double pivot of Rice and Anderson. It is time to ditch the safety-first approach and revert to an aggressive 3-1-6 attacking shape.

Rice has played an incredible amount of minutes this year and deserves a well-earned breather, leaving a single anchor man to run the show.

While Anderson can do a job if told to play the ball forward at pace, the clamour for to start is getting impossible to ignore.

The Manchester United youngster is built completely differently and brings a classic Michael Carrick tactical blueprint to life.

Mainoo thrives on forming passing diamonds rather than standard midfield triangles. As the base of the diamond, he doesn’t take two or three touches to slow down the play; it is always sharp, one-touch bounce passes.

He will receive the ball, instantly zip it back to a team-mate on the half-turn, and suddenly England are breaking lines at real pace.

Our build-up play has been painfully slow, and Mainoo is the exact injection of tempo this midfield cries out for.

Kobbie Mainoo would be best suited to playing the deeper midfield role against Panama Credit: Getty England must be wary of the threat posed by Panama in their final group game Credit: Alamy

PAN SEARED

It would be a catastrophic mistake to look at Panama at the bottom of the group and assume they are already on the beach.

They played exceptionally well against Croatia and Ghana, creating an abundance of chances – they simply lack a clinical edge in front of goal.
If England had carved out the openings Panama did, we would have scored five or six.

Panama’s main danger lies in how quickly they transition from their defensive shape.

Out of possession, their left-sided attacker tucks inside to create a compact midfield three, but the moment they win the ball, they look to exploit England’s inverted full-backs with rapid diagonal switches.

Keep an eye out for their dangerous winger, Jose Luis Rodriguez, affectionately nicknamed “The Puma.”

If our full-backs get sucked too far infield, Panama will ping long, sweeping diagonals into the wide areas for Rodriguez to chase.

He has serious pace and can catch our centre-backs completely off guard if they fail to shift across and block the counter-attacking lanes quickly.

Furthermore, full-back Murillo will aggressively overlap on the right, effectively turning Panama into a brave 4-2-4 shape when they enter the final third.

If whoever is playing on our left wing switches off for even a second, Murillo will create a dangerous numerical overload.

England can turn this aggression into a trap, though. By implementing a solid defence, we can intentionally “decompress” – allowing Panama to venture out into the middle of the field.

The moment they lose possession in transition, their slower centre-backs will be totally exposed, leaving acres of space for Rashford to utilize his electric pace and fire us into the knockout rounds with a massive statement victory.