Former England defender Jamie Carragher has explained why England boss Gareth Southgate dropped Mason Mount for Jordan Henderson against Wales.

“I actually think the balance of having Declan Rice and another similar type of midfielder there, it was Kalvin Phillips in the last tournament, and that partnership worked really well,” Carragher told Sky Sports via Football Daily.

“If we’re going to play 4-3-3, you want at least one of your midfield players to be offensive, Bellingham is that. They also had Mason Mount in there.

“Gareth has been accused of being pragmatic and defensive, but the first two games of a major tournament he has put Mason Mount and Jude Bellingham as attacking midfield players with Declan Rice in behind, so that’s not defensive.

“But as the tournament goes on and we saw in times in that game against the US, Declan Rice got overrun and it felt like he was outnumbered. At times he needs a bit of help.

“I thought the change of Jordan Henderson changed the game for England, so I’m not surprised he’s coming in and playing there.

“It may be a tussle between Bellingham and Mount going forward in this tournament. We’ll see how fit Kalvin Phillips gets.

“I don’t think Gareth Southgate will go with the midfield that he’s gone with in the first two games when they get to the knock-out stages against a top nation.”