Alan Shearer says he would have Jamie Vardy on the bench for England

Alan Shearer would have Jamie Vardy on the England bench in order to accommodate Wayne Rooney in the starting XI, but actually thinks Roy Hodgson’s bigger issues are at the other end of the pitch as they head to Euro 2016.

The former England striker knows a thing or two about goalscoring and the attacking trio of Rooney, Vardy and Harry Kane looked impotent at Wembley against Portugal on Thursday with the latter two - the top-scorers in last season’s Premier League let’s not forget - forced wide and away from the opposition box. Rooney struggled to make the killer runs into the gap created and the whole square-pegs-in-round-holes system was flawed.

Shearer, who Tweeted “If you're going to play Kane and Vardy then at least play them as centre-forward and not wingers. Or what's the point?” during the Portugal match, would give the England captain the opportunity to impress against Russia next Saturday in the opening fixture and would then reassess. “Rooney would be in my XI for the first game and then it’s up to him,” Shearer told The Independent.

“As would Harry Kane. He’s earned the right to be England’s No 1 striker and again the rest is up to him. There was still one or two asking the question at the start of the season: could he do it for a second successive season? I always thought he could. Well, whoever asked the question has now had their answer. An emphatic answer. I’m a big fan of his, I like the way he plays, he does most things very well and, of course, as a forward you have to score goals and he’s done that for two seasons now.”

Although England have now won all three Euro 2016 warm-up games against Turkey, Australia and Portugal, Shearer was very impressed with the 3-2 win against Germany in Berlin back in March. Rooney missed that game with Dele Alli tucked in behind Kane who played centre forward while Vardy was on the bench.

“I’d think Roy will start with Kane and go with the same system and a lot of the same players from that Germany game,” Shearer said. “If Kane doesn’t score or we are chasing the game you’ve got Vardy to come on, use his pace as he did against Germany. He’s a great option for us.”

But Shearer, top scorer at Euro 96, is more worried about the defence which he believes fatally undermines any hopes Hodgson’s side have of winning Euro 2016. “My big concern is defensively,” Shearer added. “Central defenders. We haven't got any. Look around: Cahill, Smalling, Stones has had a nightmare for the past three or four months. He might drop Eric Dier in there but other than that…that’s why I would be concerned. That’s why I’d hesitate and say that I don’t think we will win it.”

There are positives for Shearer, who will be a BBC pundit during the Euros, though as, despite the attacking confusion at Wembley, he is encouraged by the drive in the side. “We go with some energy,” he said, “and excitement into the unknown. How are the young players going to perform? I wouldn’t expect us to win it - that is a step too far. Although, having said that no one expected Leicester to win the Premier League.”

Shearer likes the Tottenham contingent after the north London’s club’s fine season and would urge Hodgson to use the Spurs players. “I would definitely go with Kane and Dier, Walker, Rose, Alli. I’m sure there will be a nucleus of Tottenham players,” he said. “And so there should be because they’ve earned the right to be there. Those guys are the reason why we are probably excited about the Euros. We want to see what they can do on the main stage now.

“Dele Alli has taken the transition from where he was to where he is now with ease. He looks so comfortable, he sort of glides and he’s got a great relationship with Kane which is exciting. They both know each other’s game inside out. You can’t be anything but impressed with the way he has handled Premier League football.”

Is Shearer not concerned about that streak of petulance in him, though? “[The sending-off at the end of the season] could be a blessing in disguise for England,” the former striker said. “He’d be a fool to let it happen again when it’s happened so recently. So for him to be punished the way he was - and rightly so - might work out to England’s benefit.”

Shearer wants to see endeavour and commitment. “I hope they play with high intensity,” he added. “I hope it’s exciting. I hope there will be goals because if we are going to get to a semi-final - which I think we could do - we are going to need to score goals because we will also ship a few.

“Realistically, what we can hope is for the young players to bring a bit of energy and a bit of excitement and to gain some valuable experience. I don't think anyone genuinely thinks that England are going to go to France and win it. I hope I'm wrong.”

The BBC will provide extensive coverage of Euro 2016 across TV, radio and online from Friday 10th June 2016