How England C are expected to start against Wales and Notts County’s Macaulay Langstaff’s threat

England C and Wales C do battle once more as the two go head-to-head at Altrincham on Tuesday evening.

It’s the fourth edition of this fixture since its inception back in 2018 with a win apiece as well as a draw in Salford. Cymru had the bragging rights last time with a 4-0 win in Caernarfon. 

Much has changed since then with Will Evans getting a move to Newport County, whilst for England, several got moves to the Football League. England’s squad is new look with only one player remaining whilst a core of last year’s side has been picked by Mark Jones.

England will be on a revenge mission and there are plenty of players to be wary about. Sam Dalby, who is hoping to win promotion with Wrexham could strike against the country he currently sides in with fans of the North Wales club split. 

Thomas Feaheny, a freelance journalist, who covers the National League for the Non-League Paper, gives us the low down on Paul Fairclough and the Three Lions. 

Wales C of course won 4-0 last time around. What went wrong for England that day? Were you shocked by the performance and result?

I’d say it was one of those days for England C last time out, obviously a lot of players who have played against rather than with each other happens for both teams but for England it showed, the game was done going into the break and the second half felt a bit like a non-event. I wasn’t shocked in that both were good teams, just it was one of those days for the England side.

Joe Sbarra is the only player left from last year’s squad, what can we expect from the Three Lions this time?

Sbarra is a very talented player and someone who Solihull have done well to keep hold of, Paul Fairclough decided it was time for a change and by giving so many different players from different teams a chance, he has done just that, by giving so many players an opportunity, it is difficult to predict, again so many have done well for their own clubs, put together will it work is a different question.

How wary does Wales need to be of Macaulay Langstaff? What kind of defender does he enjoy playing against?

Langstaff is having the season of his life, he joined Notts County from Gateshead where he was the best player in the National League North, before that he’d done an okay job at other clubs, without really excelling to the levels he has achieved, having watched him quite a few times, he is a very good poacher, one or two touches and instinct finishing is how he has scored most of his goals, the thing is you can try and mark him out the game, but he only needs one chance with the form he is in, and again overly relying on stopping him could lead to chances for other players.

Barring the obvious Langstaff, who from the England squad do you think could cut it in the Football League?

In terms of the rest of the squad, attacking-wise Sam Dalby has popped up with some important goals for Wrexham despite not being a guaranteed starter, Emile Acquah scored twice this weekend and could be dangerous if he starts. There’s no one in the squad who would be deemed a huge shock in being selected, at centre back the likes of Jesse Debrah who has all the attributes to be a top defender in the EFL or maybe even higher, while Tyler Cordner is in the same boat with a bit more experience. They have two very good goalkeepers as well in Howes and Norman who have performed very well for Wealdstone & Oldham respectively.

Read more: Mark Jones names 20-man Cymru C squad to face England

What’s the perception of the Cymru Premier? Do National League fans like the ‘C’ international?

In terms of the Welsh League structure, as someone who follows the League of Ireland, I feel the one thing that would really help the league grow is a team making Europe, if they could do that the opportunities that present themselves could be there, obviously TNS have so much quality and it is no shock so many have been included in the squad. The only question for some regarding the fixture is the timing of it with such a crucial end to the season in store, that being said obviously it was made a free mid-week for this reason & is a good opportunity for those involved.

And finally, how do you expect England C to line up?

Very difficult to predict how the squad will start, would presume game time will be made available to as many as possible if I was guessing I’d go 4-3-3 & I’m often wrong with these like this! Howes, Richardson, Cordner, Debrah, Harper, Scott-Morriss, Booty, Lundstram, Acquah, Langstaff, Sbarra.

(Featured Image: Will Cheshire)