Everton: Report shares if Jarrad Branthwaite to start for England v Brazil
Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite is set to start on the bench for England in their friendly with Brazil on Saturday night.
The 21-year-old defender got his first call-up to the senior national team last week, with Ian Wright calling for him to be a starter in the team for the Euro 2024 tournament this summer.
But the Toffees ace will have to wait for his opportunity according to a report by the Daily Mail (23 March), with the expectation that he will start on the bench as John Stones and Harry Maguire start at Wembley.
Southgate is wasting Branthwaite’s time
Southgate succumbed to peer pressure by calling up players like Branthwaite and Ezri Konsa for the first time, however it’s pretty pointless if you’re not going to play them.
Everyone and their nan knows what John Stones and Harry Maguire can do at international level, and if the plan is to play them as the first-choice options together then that’s absolutely fine.
But clearly the manager needs more options than just those two in case of injuries, and he needs to test these players against the best opposition in order to find out what they’re capable of.
These games would be the perfect opportunity for players like Branthwaite, Konsa, Kobbie Mainoo and Anthony Gordon to let them fight for their place and turn in big performances.
They won’t be able to really make an impression from the substitutes bench and one game isn’t enough to make a decision, so this whole thing just seems like a waste of time.
In other Everton news, Stan Collymore has demanded a rule change ahead of the second PSR rule breach hearing.
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