Alan Shearer says disappointing England starter has fallen to third choice

One England star has fallen down the pecking order, according to Alan Shearer (Picture: Getty Images)

Alan Shearer

feels

Morgan Rogers

could start for England on the right wing against Argentina, if

Bukayo Saka

is not fit, after

Noni Madueke

’s disappointing performance against Norway.

The Three Lions are preparing to take on Argentina in the semi-finals on Wednesday and

Thomas Tuchel

has some big decisions to make.

Right-back and both wings have been the major headaches for the England boss during this tournament, while managing the fitness of

Declan Rice

is also an issue he is dealing with.

Anthony Gordon

has come into form and appears to have nailed down the starting berth on the left flank, but an issue remains on the right.

Saka has not looked fully fit throughout the tournament and didn’t start the quarter-final win over Norway, but did replace Madueke at half-time after a poor first half performance from the former Chelsea man.

Based on form Saka looks likely to get the nod and Shearer believes Madueke has produced so little that he may have fallen behind Aston Villa’s Rogers, who is really in the squad as a no.10.

‘I was surprised Saka didn’t start against Norway, but quite clearly, he can’t be 100 per cent fit,’ Shearer told

Betfair

. ‘Because if he was, then he’d be starting.

Noni Madueke has not made the most of his opportunities (Picture: Getty Images)

‘Madueke didn’t offer enough for us in that first half, and I wasn’t surprised when the manager took him off and brought Saka on. So, if Saka’s fit, and we don’t know that, if he’s fit, my guess is he will start.

‘My team to play against Argentina would be Pickford, James, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly, Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Saka, Kane, Gordon.

‘He could probably go Gordon again on the left, but there’s also an option that he may start Rogers on the right if he feels Saka’s not fit enough and Madueke won’t offer enough. He could go with Gordon, Bellingham, and Rogers. And that’s another option that he’s got in there.’

Madueke is the only one of England’s four natural wingers not to provide a goal or an assist at the tournament so far, despite playing more minutes than Saka and Marcus Rashford.

Gordon and Saka have both laid on three assists, while Rashford is the only player outside of Harry Hane and Jude Bellingham to score a goal.

Morgan Rogers made an impact off the bench against Norway (Picture: Getty Images)

As far as England’s opposition goes, there will be huge focus on Lionel Messi, who has scored eight goals so far this summer, sharing the lead in the Golden Boot race with Kylian Mbappe.

Shearer has reminded England fans that there is plenty of quality in the Argentina side outside of the great man, though, even if they do look vulnerable.

‘I don’t think you can say anyone’s lucky to get to a semi-final,’ said the Newcastle legend. ‘I think what we can’t underestimate is their power and their will to get to where they are. I think that’s the impressive thing.

Lionel Messi has been incredible for Argentina this summer at 39 years old (Picture: Getty Images)

‘They’re the reigning champions and they’re in the semi-final for a reason. But I do feel you can get at them and if you do, you can score goals. Obviously, the big question is if you stop Messi, you’ve got a massive chance of stopping Argentina.

‘It’s not as simple that if you just stop Messi then you win the game because when you look at [Julian] Alvarez, the goal that he scored the other day in the quarter-final against Switzerland, they’ve got Fernandez and Mac Allister as well, they’ve got some really talented players so it’s not as simple as that. But if you do stop him, it does often increase your chances of beating them.

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