In England’s opening UEFA Euro match against Serbia, former England star Stuart Pearce suggested through talkSPORT radio that Phil Foden should be replaced by Eberechi Eze as early as the 29th minute, with England leading 1-0 thanks to Jude Bellingham’s header.
Pearce was blunt in his assessment: “I want to make my point clear right now. We talked about the possibility of making early changes, and if it were up to me, I’d bring on Eze to add more attacking impetus. If you ask me, this is what I would do after just 29 minutes!”
He observed that Foden seemed to be taking on too many responsibilities on the pitch, with the team’s attacks predominantly funneling through the right side. He continued, “What I’m seeing is England almost entirely relying on the right for their attacks. The left is virtually paralyzed – Trippier, a right-footed player playing at left-back, isn’t contributing much going forward. Foden keeps drifting into the middle, almost acting as a free man.”
“I want to see us threaten from both wings. Serbia’s defense looks vulnerable, begging us to exploit them. So far, only Saka is behaving like a true winger, and I’d like to see the same on the other side.”
It’s worth noting that Pearce had a brief stint as England’s caretaker manager in 2012, overseeing just one friendly match, a 2-3 loss to the Netherlands at Wembley. In that game, he made a bold decision to substitute captain Steven Gerrard, who was injured, with Daniel Sturridge after only 33 minutes.
Pearce served as an interim coach between Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson. As a player, he made 78 appearances for the England national team, serving as a key defender from 1987 to 1999.