Wayne Rooney says he was “really surprised” that Gareth Southgate did not take a fully fit left-back to Euro 2024 and “very surprised” that Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell has not made the England squad.
Southgate admitted he took a “risk” in choosing Luke Shaw in his 26-man squad despite the left-back’s injury-plagued season at Manchester United.
England had hoped Shaw would be fit enough to feature in the second group match against Denmark, but the 28-year-old was absent throughout the group stage and remains a brace for the knockout stages.
That forced Kieran Trippier into the left-back slot, but the Newcastle United star has offered little in attack despite contributing to the best defensive record at Euro 2024.
Some pundits have suggested Kyle Walker should move to left-back to offer England more firepower behind Phil Foden and allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to play on the right, while Ian Wright has even proposed dropping Bukayo Saka into that role.
All of these headaches could have been avoided, according to Rooney, if Southgate had chosen Chelsea’s Chilwell in the squad.
Like Shaw, Chilwell also struggled with injuries during the 2023-24 campaign, but played for the Blues towards the end of the season.
“I was very surprised and very shocked that Ben Chilwell wasn’t picked,” Rooney told the BBC’s Football Daily podcast.
‘Just to balance things out, we have a left-footed player. We’re talking about a Chelsea player. He’s been good for England in the past, he’s a good left-back and he’s been in tournaments as well.
“So I was very surprised that he wasn’t selected and now you’re left with (Kieran) Trippier or (Joe) Gomez.”
Rooney added: ‘I think at the moment it has to be Trippier or Gomez who plays there.
‘Or do you bring Kyle (Walker) to the other side? For me he has been the best right back in the world in recent years. Do you take that away from England?
“There are a lot of imbalances and questions from that point of view. The left side of the field has been a problem for me.
“That’s the only area where I don’t know what he’ll do now. It will be interesting to see what Gareth Southgate does in the next game.”
Despite their disappointing performance so far in Germany, England advanced to the round of 16 of Euro 2024 as winners of Group C.
Southgate’s side will face Slovakia in Sunday’s last-16 tie before a possible meeting with Switzerland or reigning European champions Italy in the quarter-finals.
Rooney is optimistic England’s performance will improve in the qualifiers but admits it is a “problem” that so many star players are underperforming.
“There are a lot of really good attacking players in the team: Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka,” he said.
‘We see them perform weekly for their clubs, but not for England. There is certainly a problem.’
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