THE more things change with England, the more they stay the same. Yes, there were some eye-catching selections in the 33-man provisional squad Gareth Southgate announced ahead of the Euros this afternoon, not to mention some eye-catching names omitted from the list.

No Jordan Henderson, for the first time at a major tournament since the 2010 World Cup. No Marcus Rashford either, despite the Manchester United forward being a key performer at the last World Cup in Qatar. Chances for Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarell Quansah, Adam Wharton and Curtis Jones to stake a claim for a place on the plane to Germany, albeit that the quartet must be strong candidates for the chop when Southgate whittles down his current group to a final 26-man squad that must be submitted to UEFA by June 7.

Ultimately, though, any assessment of the England team that will compete in Germany this summer will almost certainly come up with the same list of strengths and weaknesses that could have been levelled at any group that has competed at a major tournament during Southgate’s reign.

Attack? Superb. A match for any other team at the tournament. Midfield and out wide? Equally as good, with the caveat that with Henderson and Kalvin Phillips cast into the wilderness, England will be bereft of a defensive midfielder if anything was to happen to Declan Rice. Defence and in goal though? A worrying lack of both depth and established talent. In their group matches and early knockout games, Southgate’s side should be able to swat aside whoever is lining up against them. Come up against a world-class opponent in a quarter or semi-final, though, and England’s defensive frailties could be too damaging to overcome.

Look at the list of central-defensive options now available to Southgate, and it is hard to avoid the conclusion that it will be Harry Maguire and John Stones lining up alongside each other for England’s opening group game against Serbia, unless the former fails to recover from the muscular injury that kept him out of the final month of the season.

Maguire has had a torrid time at Old Trafford in the last couple of years, and has also made a string of high-profile mistakes with England, most notably in Glasgow, as his side beat Scotland, and at Wembley last September, as they lost to Germany. Yet for all his obvious weaknesses, the 31-year-old remains Southgate’s go-to man at the heart of the back four. Stones can be equally as error-prone, hence Pep Guardiola’s tendency to move him into midfield with Manchester City, but he too looks a likely starter for England.

Lewis Dunk and Marc Guehi are the realistic alternatives, with this tournament surely coming too soon for either Branthwaite or Quansah to be considered as viable starters, but it is hard to see Southgate plumping for either. That has to be a worry.

Right-back shouldn’t be a concern, with Kyle Walker likely to get the nod ahead of Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who now looks to be a midfield option for England rather than a defender, but left-back is a huge issue.

Southgate admitted yesterday that Luke Shaw is a “long shot” for the Euros as he battles against the muscular problem that has sidelined him since February, yet the England boss still opted not to select Ben Chilwell. Joe Gomez could play at left-back, but if Shaw fails to make it, the likeliest scenario is that Trippier will be asked to switch wings. The Newcastle defender can play at left-back, but his overlapping attacking runs will be heavily curtailed if he is forced to play on the ‘wrong’ flank.

Jordan Pickford will start in goal, and for all that he can throw in the odd error with Everton, the Wearsider has never let his country down. If he was to be unavailable, though, the alarm bells really would be ringing. Aaron Ramsdale has barely played in the second half of the season, yet the Arsenal number two would be England’s number one if anything happened to Pickford.

Better then to focus on the opposite end of the pitch. Harry Kane might have failed to land the title with Bayern Munich, but he still heads into this summer’s tournament on the back of an exceptional season in the Bundesliga. Kane remains England’s goalscoring talisman, but for once, in the shape of the in-form Ollie Watkins, Southgate has a viable alternative to his skipper. If nothing else, Watkins’ presence will at least provide an opportunity to change things from the bench if Kane is failing to fire.

The strength of England’s creative attacking unit behind Kane is exceptional. Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka would walk into any other team in the tournament – assembling them in a formation that gets the best out of all three is likely to be one of Southgate’s biggest challenges.

All three will surely start whenever fit, although there is a strong support cast desperate to be involved. Anthony Gordon’s selection is justified recognition of a stellar season with Newcastle, but the winger finds himself competing with Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Cole Palmer for a place in the final 26. Given the need to provide adequate defensive cover, it is unlikely that all six will survive the final cut.

The absence of both Henderson and Phillips means Kobbie Mainoo might make the final squad at the end of a breakthrough season with Manchester United, with Conor Gallagher also in with a decent chance given his ability to fill a number of different positions.

Much will depend on exactly who is fit because if Southgate wants to protect himself in one area of the field, he might well have to weaken his options in another. Ultimately, though, he finds himself presiding over a squad with an abundance of attractive attacking options and a dearth of in-form players in defence. The more things change, the more they stay the same.