Sky Sports pundits have tipped Newcastle United’s Kieran Trippier to start for England in their opening World Cup fixture.
Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jamie Redknapp, and Karen Carney, have each selected their predicted starting line-ups for Monday’s clash with Iran, and three of the four have chosen Trippier to take his place at right-back.
After an extremely impressive season with the Toon so far, Trippier’s inclusion is a popular opinion among fans, and Carragher, Redknapp, and Carney all agree. Gary Neville is the only one of the four to leave Trippier out of the starting eleven, although he did comment that Newcastle’s stand-in captain will have an important role to play later in the tournament.
Neville selected Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold as his starter against Iran but said that he would prefer the more experienced Trippier to take his place when it came to the knockout stages.
Neville said: “I don’t think Alexander-Arnold will play in a knockout game. That right-hand side, Trippier, and Walker will come in for White and Alexander- Arnold as they get fit and the games get harder.”
It was a statement that sparked a heated debate between Neville and Redknapp, with the former Liverpool star stating that Alexander-Arnold was just as experienced as Trippier when it came to big games.
Speaking of Redknapp, the former England international’s predicted line-up for the opening game will be the one that Newcastle fans will be hoping comes true. The reason is that he has chosen Nick Pope as England’s number one ahead of regular Three Lions stopper, Jordan Pickford.
There could hardly be a more popular decision among the Newcastle faithful – their current goalkeeping hero replacing the former Sunderland man, who has become a pantomime villain of sorts on Tyneside.
Redknapp said of his decision: “I’m picking this team for the first day of the tournament. I just prefer Pope and Ramsdale to Pickford.”
It will be fascinating to see if England boss, Gareth Southgate, will plump for the youth of Alexander-Arnold or the wise old head of Trippier against Iran. Southgate has made a point of selecting in-form players for his team throughout his reign to date, and if that were to continue, then surely Trippier will get the nod after leading his club to an amazing start in the Premier League this season.