England Euro 2020 squad announcement leaves plenty of questions for Gareth Southgate to answer

The debate about which players should make England's Euro 2020 squad was fiercer than ever before.

There are a couple of reasons for this. First and foremost this crop of players is the most talented a Three Lions manager has had at their disposal since the days of the fabled 'Golden Generation'.

Right-back is where this is most evident. English, Spanish and European champions, as well as the world-class Trent Alexander-Arnold are all competing for just one spot. There is also absurd strength in depth in advanced areas, particularly at wide forward and in attacking midfield.

The bloated player pool is not the only reason that the discussion surrounding Tuesday's squad announcement had been so fierce. The fact Euro 2020 has been delayed has given everyone an extra year to argue, while Southgate's perceived negative tactics have also encouraged some fans to concoct beautifully kamikaze but fanciful 26-man squads.

Despite the potential for a meltdown, the unveiling of the England team on Tuesday went rather like most reasonable people expected. Cut from the provisional squad were James Ward-Prowse, Ben Godfrey, Ben White, Ollie Watkins, Aaron Ramsdale and Jesse Lingard. Meanwhile, Mason Greenwood was forced to pull out with injury and Southgate remained coy over whether he would have been selected if fit.

Of those who missed out, Lingard is the only one who can feel legitimately aggrieved. The midfielder was the one of the in-form players in Europe during the backend of the season. Everything he touched turned to gold, with the beans enthusiast outperforming his non-penalty xG by a scarcely believable 4.6 during his 16-game stint at West Ham. He also laid on five assists but was ultimately the victim of incredible competition for places in attacking midfield.

This footnote aside Southgate selection was inoffensive, putting a definitive full-stop on a debate that has raged for months. Sadly for the England boss although one argument is over, much tougher conundrums still need to be solved.

No area of the England squad is clouded by more uncertainty than defence. Southgate conceded that it will be 'tight' for Harry Maguire - who missed the end of Manchester United's season with an ankle injury - to make his side's opener against Croatia. Even if he does, he is likely to be playing at anywhere close to full fitness and getting players up to scratch during the tournament is a notoriously risky business.

If Maguire is not available England either have to play a back three - with all the selection headaches that causes - or sacrifice a more attack-minded midfielder in order to provide an unconvincing back four with added protection.

Jordan Henderson would be a leading contender to come in if the latter option is chosen but he has also endured an injury-hit end to the campaign. The Liverpool skipper has not played since February, and although he should feature in Wednesday's friendly against Austria, this will be causing Southgate significant anxiety.

The question marks do not stop there either. We have already touched open the congestion at right-back and in the forward positions and while it is heartening to have such strength in depth, no matter what the manager does he is going to be left with some big egos sat twiddling their thumbs for much of the competition.

One of the successes of Southgate's reign so far has been his ability to make international duty fun again. Once a place where dreams went to die, players now seem to genuinely enjoy meeting up with England. Perhaps the biggest question that Southgate has to answer is how on Earth do you keep some of Europe's best forwards happy when some of them are condemned to a lonely shift on the substitutes bench.

This problem has been exacerbated by the squad's expansion to 26 players - a move Southgate is dead against. This has created more idle hands that will need to be cleverly managed to maintain the harmony of the group.

Over to you, Gareth.