Gareth Southgate must look towards starting Anthony Gordon or Cole Palmer in England's Euro 2024 quarter-final against Switzerland on Saturday, says former Three Lions defender Wes Brown.
England seemed set to be heading out in the last 16 last Sunday until Jude Bellingham's superb 95th-minute overhead kick sent the tie to extra time against Slovakia.
Harry Kane then headed in the winner just a minute after the restart, with England able to hold on to get into the last eight with a 2-1 comeback victory.
Southgate has resisted altering his line-up so far at the Euros, making just two changes to his starting XI in four games, yet Brown believes England would benefit from considering their two youthful attackers.
"He's [Southgate] the manager and he's stayed with the same four at the top with Bellingham there," said Brown, speaking to Stats Perform at the Home of Adidas football in Berlin.
"And I think we've all seen the likes of Palmer come on and do really well. It's just a matter of, for the next stages, are you going to change one or two players?
"I don't think it will change much in general. It's not like any of the lads have done anything bad, but no one's played brilliantly as well.
"I think that's where people talk about balance and maybe we should bring Gordon on, or Palmer especially to change it, because he is the in-form player at the moment, I think everyone would agree.
"We've managed and done enough to get through to where we are, and I think that speaks for itself considering we've not played great, fluent football."
England scored just two goals as they topped Group C with one win and two draws, and their games produced the fewest expected goals (xG) among the teams during the group stage (2.26 for, 1.13 against).
Bellingham's leveller was the first shot on target against Slovakia in the last 16, though Brown credited the team's mentality to keep going until the end.
"The way we've been playing, we've not really created much," Brown, a 23-cap international for England, said.
"I know we hit the post, and we had one other opportunity. [But it’s] not quite up to the standard everybody hoped we were going to be. But we're through.
"I think that's very important; the lads have maintained the mentality to keep going and get the goals when needed. I know for a fact we can play much better and we've got another opportunity now to do that against Switzerland at the weekend."
England, however, suffered a blow early on in the last 16, as Marc Guehi received his second booking of the tournament in the third minute, ruling him out of Saturday's game.
The Crystal Palace centre-back has received plaudits for his performances so far, yet Southgate is now facing a dilemma over who will partner John Stones in defence.
"It's a tough one," Brown added. "The obvious choice is either [Ezri] Konza or [Lewis] Dunk.
"Dunk hasn't had any game time at the moment. Konza came on the last time and played out of position a little bit, so I would have thought it would be Konza.
"But the manager is going to have to come up with a decision, he could easily move a few other people around, I don't know, could you play [Kyle] Walker there?
"There's a lot to think about, but if you're talking like-for-like, you've probably got to bring Konza in."
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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