How England and France could line up at Euro 2020: Mbappe headlines golden generation, more hurt in store for Three Lions

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AS Monaco starlet Kylian Mbappe is lighting up the Champions League, having scored in ALL of his first four appearances in the competition’s knockout stages. No player has ever done that before – he’s only 18-years-old.

Mbappe is the future of football, and the future of the French national team; but in reality he is just a drop in what is a pool filled to the brim with exciting French talent. The country appear to have another golden generation on the way.

For some, the 2018 World Cup in Russia will come too soon, but when the European Championships come around once more in 2020 – several of them may already have established themselves as world-class players. The potential of the French national side is frightening, here’s how they could line up in 2020.

GK – Alphonse Areola, Paris Saint-Germain.
RB – Djibril Sidibe, AS Monaco.
CB – Kurt Zouma, Chelsea
CB – Samuel Umtiti, Barcelona.
LB – Benjamin Mendy, AS Monaco.
RM – Ousmane Dembele, Borussia Dortmund.
CM – Paul Pogba, Manchester United.
CM – Tiemoue Bakayoko, AS Monaco.
LM – Kingsley Coman, Bayern Munich.
ST – Kylian Mbappe, AS Monaco.
ST – Anthony Martial, Manchester United.

Remarkably, it doesn’t stop there. Here’s a few that will feel aggrieved to have missed out:
Aymeric Laporte, Athletic Bilbao.
Corentin Tolisso, Lyon.
Raphael Varane, Real Madrid.
Moussa Dembele, Celtic.
Thomas Lemar, AS Monaco.
Layvin Kurzawa, Paris Saint-Germain.
Nabil Fekir, Lyon.
Alexandre Lacazette, Lyon.
Lucas Digne, Barcelona.
Geoffrey Kondogbia, Inter Milan.

It’s also worth noting that when the 2020 European Championships come around, Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante and Atletico Madrid superstar Antoine Griezmann will only be 29-years-old.

How does that compare to England? The Three Lions are under new management now with Gareth Southgate taking the reins, and surely we have a lot to be optimistic about going forward? Right? Let’s have a look – here’s how England could line up in 2020.

GK – Jack Butland, Stoke City.
RB – Joe Gomez, Liverpool.
CB – John Stones, Manchester City.
CB – Michael Keane, Burnley.
LB – Luke Shaw, Manchester United.
RM – Jesse Lingard, Manchester United.
CM – Dele Alli, Tottenham.
CM – Eric Dier, Tottenham.
LM – Raheem Sterling, Manchester City.
ST – Harry Kane, Tottenham.
ST – Marcus Rashford, Manchester United.

Honourable mentions:
Nathan Redmond, Southampton.
Jordan Pickford, Sunderland.
Ross Barkley, Everton.
James Ward-Prowse, Southampton.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Chelsea.
Nathaniel Chalobah, Chelsea.
Demarai Gra, Leicester City.
Harry Winks, Tottenham.

On paper, it looks as though it could be another few years of hurt for England. For France, on the other hand, they will be the team to beat for the next decade.

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