After Cole Palmer shined in a group stage cameo, Ian Wright suggested England move Bukayo Saka to ‘left-back.’ It would have gone over better if he said ‘left-wing.’ Why are we obsessed with the name of the position and the formation numbers?

When Bukayo Saka plays for Arsenal, we say he is dropping deep from the right-wing to help Ben White defend, but when he plays for England, we say he is a right-wing-back. This does not match what is happening in possession during the game.

Why are we not talking about the fact Gareth Southgate has attempted to copy the exact dynamic Manchester City uses with a left-back, Kieran Trippier for England or Josko Gvardiol for Manchester City, pushed up high to act as a left-winger in possession, with the left-winger, Phil Foden, inverted infield?

I understand that it is common for a broadcaster to get the formation wrong, but this is a snapshot of the discussion online, on TV, during play-by-play commentary. Everything is seen through a defensive lens. It does not match what is happening on the pitch.

When I watch England, I see a 4-3-3 formation that can transform into a 3-4-3 box midfield formation, a system popularized in England by Pep Guardiola two seasons prior, but everything Gareth Southgate does is seen through a defensive lens. Therefore, everyone assumes this is a 5-2-3 formation based on graphics like the one used by the BBC. It was a 5-2-3 out of possession, like how Arsenal defend deep when protecting a lead, but in possession it was not a 5-2-3.

England has had 53% possession, 49%, 73%, 63%, 52%, and 59% during this tournament. They were on the back-foot defending after 20 minutes in the first two games, but throughout the tournament they have held the majority of possession. They are failing to attack, but they are attacking. Kyle Walker is the right-back; there is no right-wing-back Bukayo Saka when England have the ball. He is pinned high to the right.

If I’m Gareth Southgate, I’d be out promoting the fact that they are attacking. They use “wing-backs” when out of possession, but in possession, there has been an effort to mimic the top English teams.

When Saka plays on the left, he pushes high, like he did when he was trialed on the left against Slovakia, like Kieran Trippier did against the Netherlands, because they didn’t need Trippier to sit as deep as he did. Can we call that a left-winger dropping deep, or do we need to call him a left-back?

This is a public relations or marketing problem with the way we are framing each position. The formation completely changes based on where the ball is or who has the ball. He’s a left-back if the opposition have the ball, but a left-winger when England have the ball; call him a left-winger then when you’re going to have a majority of the possession.