According to research carried out by Kitbag.com, Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli was England‘s most picked player when fans were asked to name their starting 11 ahead of the Euro 2016 competition.
Alli lead the results with a huge 72% of users votes, showing the fans obvious preference for starting in Midfield. The Spurs footballer has had a brilliant season personally, and he’s now got a huge amount of attention on him ahead of the tournament in Paris.
Other noticeable stats from Kitbag’s England Squad Selector included Chris Smalling being chosen in Defence by 70% of fans, and Gary Cahill 2nd in Defence with 59% of the votes. Danny Rose is a nailed-on left back choice with 51% of the votes.
In Midfield things weren’t so clear cut, as you may expect with a squad brimming with central midfielders. Alli was clear favourite at 72% of fan votes, whilst his Spurs teammate Dier came 2nd at 44% of the votes. Sterling was next with 33%, then Ross Barkley at 28%. Danny Drinkwater just edged out James Milner with 17.6% of votes vs 16.9%, but we expect Milner’s versatility and experience would have been in the back of Roy’s mind when making his pick. The skillful Lallana comes next at 20% whilst Jack Wilshere makes the next spot with just under 15% of all votes – surprising considering his stature at Arsenal, and his seemingly undroppable status in the England team.
Up front you may be surprised to hear that Rooney was only picked by 10% of fans – with Vardy (38%) and Kane (43%) really outperforming the Man United star. Whilst it remains to be seen exactly how (or if) Rooney will be deployed by Roy come Saturday evening’s game against Russia, it seems quite evident that the fans no longer see him as a starter up front for his country. Daniel Sturridge is the next most popular option with 7.4% of the votes.
What do you think about the fans choices for England’s starting 11? Do you think you would have voted differently? You still have time if you’d like to give it a go – just choose your eleven players using the widget below.
