Phil Neville faces big test with England and Team GB juggling act

Phil Neville has an impossible task. His England squad for the friendly SheBelieves Cup, which kicks off on 5 March, hints at the problem. He has picked a 23-player squad and it is packed with talent. Come July he must assemble 18 players for the Olympics. Add to that the opportunity to include players from the other home nations and the problem gets bigger.

As much as Neville insists that thoughts of Tokyo must be pushed out while with England, the conflicting interests involved in his wearing both managerial hats are difficult to ignore.

Related: England must not see SheBelieves Cup as Team GB audition, says Phil Neville

Neville has repeatedly said that the home European Championship finals in 2021 are the main focus of his and the Football Association’s plans. Yet with the hosts qualifying automatically, competitive matches to push and test players are limited. The Olympics is the only tournament to provide that vital preparatory environment.

There is a strong argument that Olympic ambitions should be sacrificed, somewhat, at the altar of the home tournament. That is not to say Team GB should aim to lose. But with the trip to Japan the only chance to give England’s youngsters a taste of a major tournament before they push for glory on home soil, packing the squad with them makes sense.

Slowly but surely the manager is weaving the best young English talent into the senior set-up. Six players from the England squad that won bronze at the Under-20 World Cup in 2018 travel to the US for the SheBelieves Cup.

England would not be the first team to take such a long-term view. Only five players from Japan’s 2011 World Cup-winning squad featured in France last year. Instead they had the second-youngest team at the tournament, with players from their 2014 Under-17 World Cup-winning side and 2018 Under-20 World Cup-winning team blooded on the biggest stage in preparation for their home Olympics.

A complicating factor to this strategy for Neville is managing the increasingly high expectations. It would be difficult to get the right balance between providing opportunities for young players and progressing far enough to eliminate the negative effects an early exit could trigger.

Much as it seems harsh, in this vein you could forgive Neville for limiting the options for players from the other home nations. They will not be a part of his plans for 2021. But perhaps more significantly for him, managing Team GB risks rupturing relations with his Lionesses. The more places given to Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish players, the more of his England team he has to exclude.

In many ways this is the biggest player-management test of Neville’s coaching career. He has Lionesses perhaps hoping to make their final bow in Tokyo or at the Euros, young players who are England’s future needing competitive action and Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish players eager to be involved in what could be their only shot at challenging at a major tournament. But he only has 18 seats on the plane.

Two Scots made Hope Powell’s team for London 2012, but Scottish football has come on leaps and bounds. However, with no opportunity to pull a Team GB training camp together, picking a squad of the best individual players may not be the best strategy. The situation is unique. No other team at the Olympics will have had so little time on the grass together. If the strategy really is to consider the Olympics in isolation, looking to partnerships working well at club level may be the strongest option for building a competitive side.

In that respect the options are vast. The Scotland centre-back Jen Beattie has played with Steph Houghton and now lines up alongside Leah Williamson at Arsenal. The versatile Dunfermline-born forward Caroline Weir would slot into a midfield with her Manchester City teammates Jill Scott and Keira Walsh with ease. Kim Little, one of the two Scots to join the team in 2012, plays in Arsenal’s midfield with Jordan Nobbs and her hugely underrated compatriot Lisa Evans. Erin Cuthbert and Beth England are a formidable pairing up top for Chelsea. Sophie Ingle, who shields Chelsea’s defence, is the best shot at Welsh representation, with Reign FC’s midfielder Jess Fishlock recovering from an ACL injury.

With an increasing number of Scotland internationals at England’s top clubs, Neville is presented with a much bigger selection headache than Powell was in 2012. If Neville sees separating his Team GB duties from his England ones as the best way to balance things then perhaps, should we see Team GB at future Olympics, a neutral manager would be a more logical choice.

Talking points

• Celtic have announced the loan signing of Atlético Madrid’s 19-year-old forward Anita Marcos. Marcos has won two league titles with Atleti and helped Spain to an Under-19 European Championship.

• Everton will welcome Chelsea to their new Walton Hall Park home in the FA Cup quarter-finals after a 5-0 win at Bristol City. Chelsea meanwhile overcame a stubborn Liverpool thanks to a first-half goal from Norway’s Guro Reiten. In the ties due to be played on 15 March, holders Manchester City will travel to Leicester or Reading, Tottenham will play at Arsenal or Lewes, and Crystal Palace or Brighton will host Birmingham.

• Following the exposure of substandard facilities being used by the NWSL side Sky Blue last season, the club have agreed to use New York Red Bulls’ state-of-the-art training ground for the 2020 season. The move follows the announcement that the team will play at the Red Bull Arena.

• The Australian teenager Mary Fowler has joined Montpellier from Adelaide United. The 17-year-old forward has been capped four times and was a part of last year’s World Cup squad.

• The former Birmingham manager Marc Skinner has recruited the Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod and former Chelsea defender Ali Riley at Orlando Pride after a disappointing first season.