Gareth Southgate admits fielding Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield is "an experiment" and claims England lack a replacement for Kalvin Phillips.

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England held to a 1-1 draw by DenmarkThree Lions' midfield under the scannerSouthgate moans about lack of resourcesWHAT HAPPENED?

England's bid to secure top spot in Group C of Euro 2024 hit a stumbling block as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Denmark in Frankfurt. Despite taking an early lead through Harry Kane, the Three Lions struggled to maintain their momentum with Morten Hjulmand's stunning long-range strike erasing their advantage.

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After a lacklustre performance against Serbia, Alexander-Arnold was handed a second opportunity to prove his critics wrong but the Liverpool player once again failed to live up to the task and was substituted for Conor Gallagher just ten minutes into the second half. Naturally, Southgate was bombarded with questions on Alexander-Arnold's role in the team and the England manager could only muster a bizarre answer to the queries.

WHAT SOUTHGATE SAID

When asked about the substitution decision, Southgate explained, "I wanted to get Conor on; we needed some energy and to press better. He's (Alexander-Arnold) had some moments where he's delivered what we thought he would. We know it's an experiment. We know we don't have a natural replacement for Kalvin Philips. We're trying different things and at the moment we're not flowing as we'd like."

DID YOU KNOW?

Phillips, who missed out on the tournament following a disappointing loan spell at West Ham, has left a gap in the midfield that Southgate has struggled to fill. The lack of a like-for-like replacement for Phillips has led to tactical adjustments, including the controversial deployment of Alexander-Arnold in midfield – rather than his natural position at right-back.