Trent Alexander-Arnold was dropped and later restored to right-back as England struggled to a 0-0 draw with Slovenia, as another Gareth Southgate tweak failed.
Alexander-Arnold out, Conor Gallagher in was the only change as England went into their final game of Group C looking for a morale-boosting win.
It was a swap that had been telegraphed, with Southgate replacing Alexander-Arnold with Gallagher early into the second half in both of England’s previous games at the Euros.
But there was none of the improvement that the manager will have hoped for, with it becoming patently clear that his “experiment” in using a right-back in midfield was not the only issue.
England saw 73 percent of possession against Slovenia, with 12 shots on goal to their four, but they only produced four shots on target and just one big chance.
That is summed up by the fact that – via FotMob – no England player created more chances than Alexander-Arnold (three) throughout the group stage.
Of course, this is despite the 25-year-old only playing 129 minutes across the three games against Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia, averaging 2.1 chances created per 90.
Despite their 0-0 draw, England still progress to the last 16 as winners of Group C, which in all likelihood means they face the Netherlands in the first knockout round.
It is unlikely that Alexander-Arnold will come back into midfield for that clash, with Southgate instead sending Kobbie Mainoo on at half-time for the latest fall guy, Gallagher.
But there was an indication late on that he could now be considered again in his natural position, replacing Kieran Trippier for the final six minutes as Kyle Walker swapped to left-back.
Joe Gomez, meanwhile, was an unused substitute again – one of eight England players yet to see any action so far in the tournament.
Speaking on ITV’s post-match coverage, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou gave his take on Southgate’s midfield issue, saying: “I think the midfield setup is not there for them to be able to play that kind of football.
“All three players – Declan, Conor and Jude – kind of play the safe way in terms of their passing.
“You need somebody creative in there who’s prepared maybe to gamble in one sense, but also has the vision and the clarity of thought to say ‘before I receive this ball, it’s going forward’.
“And that then provokes movement from guys further up.”
In short, Postecoglou described exactly the player Southgate has made a scapegoat for England’s Euros campaign so far – with Alexander-Arnold one of few in the squad to possess that vision.
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