The lineup Gareth Southgate must pick for England to save his job

Gareth Southgate's future as England boss has been placed under further pressure following the Three Lions' 1-1 stalemate with Ukraine on Saturday.

England retain a six-point lead at the top of their Euro 2024 qualifying group, but Southgate came under criticism for taking off the likes of Jude Bellingham, who has been hugely impressive for Real Madrid this season.

Speaking after the game, Southgate admitted that things didn't quite "click" between his players.

“The reality is we’re not going to win every game by fours and sevens as we’ve done in this qualifying campaign,” he said.

“That was a really good test, away from home, in a very passionate atmosphere. We had quite a few changes forced from the last game. Sometimes, especially with attacking play, it doesn’t quite click.”

The Three Lions are back in action at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening for a friendly against Scotland to mark the 150th anniversary of the oldest rivalry in football.

And all eyes will be on Southgate's team selection, with plenty of question marks surrounding his current best XI.

Meanwhile, SPORTbible have selected the XI we believe would give Southgate the best chance of keeping his job. Take a look below.

Lineup Builder

The inclusion of Jordan Pickford should require little justification by now. The Everton goalkeeper has made the England no. 1 shirt his own and has made some massive saves down the years.

At right-back, Southgate has plenty of choice with Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James and Kieran Tripper all at his disposal.

However, after scoring his first ever goal for his country against Ukraine, and with Alexander-Arnold and James currently sidelined through injury, Walker would appear top be the sensible pick.

We have opted for a centre-back pairing of Fikayo Tomori and Levi Colwill, with the latter hugely impressing during the England under-21's Euro 2023 winning campaign. While John Stones would be one of the first names on the team sheet, his hip injury has ruled him out of contention and Tomori could be been given an opportunity to showcase his ability.

Meanwhile, Chilwell is expected to be given the nod down the left-hand side in the absence of Luke Shaw.

Moving onto the midfield, a youthful trio of Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden is the sort of midfield England fans have been crying out for - boasting pace, creativity and dynamism.

Although Rice and Bellingham have become stalwarts of Southgate's tournament teams, Foden has often been overlooked. However, the 23-year-old has played as part of a midfield three for Manchester City this season and really caught the eye.

In attack, Bukayo Saka has made himself almost undroppable, with the Arsenal winger picking up England's Player of the Year award for the second year running.

Captain Harry Kane is another player who needs little justification, with the 30-year-old able to both score and assist those around him. On the left, Marcus Rashford has to be given a chance after missing out against Ukraine.

Topics: England, Euro 2024, Football, Gareth Southgate, Scotland

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno