Anytime you’re able to beat the world champions just a few months out from a major competition, that’s a good thing. Even more so when you do it with a hearty comeback on the back of a group of young and inexperienced players. But when you’re the English football team, you can be sure that there’s a negative to be found in there somewhere.

In this case it’s the dilemma now facing manager Roy Hodgson. He’s seen a team come from 2-0 down to beat Germany in Berlin thanks to goals from Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Eric Dier. A team without regulars such as Wayne Rooney, Jack Wilshere and Joe Hart. Pretty soon he’s gonna have to make a call either way there.

Euro 2016 kicks off in France in June and England will play in a group featuring Wales, Slovakia and Russia. Once again, expectations are high. But by the time that tournament begins, in fact by the time the final squad will be confirmed, the Premier League trophy will be in the cabinet of either Leicester City or Tottenham Hotspur – with maybe a 5% chance of Arsenal making a late run.

That’s borderline unimaginable, even now, to think that. Either a team that 12 months ago was flirting hard with relegation or Spurs, who have a reputation for never winning anything, for being fickle and flimsy. One of them will probably win the Premier League. The good news is that each has a strong English contingent in their squad, but even that is a dilemma in itself.

For the past two decades the English club system has been dominated by four main teams: Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchesters United and City. Each of the four has obviously included some legendary English internationals but they’ve also largely been built upon foreign talent. That’s the way of the modern game, Leicester and Tottenham would be nowhere without the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Toby Alderweireld. However for as long as some fans (Wildcard included) can remember there has been a clear hierarchy in the Premier League and it involves money and prestige. Upstarts need not apply (unless they have Oil Money to spare). It is within that structure that the likes of Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Joleon Lescott all played at least 30 times for their country. Wes Brown woulda been on that list too had he not retired early.

Point being there has been a disparity in modern times in how players were considered for the England team. Play for a top four team and you’re pretty much in, even if you’re only making 20 appearances a year. Play for a lower-mid table team and it’s gonna take something special. Well, either something special or a transfer to the bench of a Manchester team. As such there’s been an overreliance on fellas like Wayne Rooney, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. All great players, all often found wanting at the big tournaments. That’s not a blanket statement because England has had some fine individual performers at World Cups and Euros but that hasn’t gotten them past the quarter finals any time recently and it certainly hasn’t helped them in penalty shootouts. Part of that is definitely down to exaggerated expectations (there are always at least six or seven teams with a genuine chance of winning those tournaments – meaning far more disappointed ones than celebrating ones, them’s just the law of averages). But there could also be some truth to that typically talkbackian retort of over-paid, under-passionate players.

Yet on the flipside, there’s a reason they play for the best clubs and that’s because they’re good. The best clubs buy/keep them for that very reason. As a national coach, you can’t go about only picking the players that scored last week, you’ve gotta be selecting the best talents too. That’s a tough balance and one that’s unfairly been held against many England managers before – ultimately there’s no exact formula, you pick a path and do the best you can, hoping for as much luck as possible.

Except that the best performing Englishmen this season are mostly from the top couple teams. That ought to make the answer pretty simple… if only those top two teams weren’t Leicester and Tottenham. The only traditional powerhouse that’s playing up to their reputation is Arsenal and that’s not a good thing – for Arsenal as much as anyone else. While they’re busy Arsenaling their way into third/fourth and a Champions League knockout elimination (half done already), Man City are flopping horribly down the straight, Man United can’t string three results together, Liverpool have sacked a manager this season and Chelsea… yeah let’s leave that rabid beast alone for now. People complain about the failures of English clubs in Europe but there’s a reason for that: they aren’t very good. Leicester City’s run has been an alignment of the planets internally but also externally. To put that in numbers, they’re on course for a shade over 80 points – which would win them exactly two of the last 14 titles. Probably not even that based on goal differential.

So now what? Roy Hodgson has already said that he’s basically saving seats for Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere on the plane. In fact he said he’ll pick Wilshere even he doesn’t play a game all season (and he hasn’t yet) so long as he passes a fitness test. Where exactly that leaves Team of the Year probables Jamie Vardy and Danny Drinkwater is anyone’s guess.

How Roy picks his strikers is a talking point in itself. Harry Kane will definitely be there but will he start ahead of Rooney? Alongside him? You’d imagine Danny Welbeck and Jamie Vardy get nods as well and if Daniel Sturridge is fit then he’s gotta be there on ability too. But there are only so many spots, so that’d mean Theo Walcott is left out. Walcott teased a breakout season late last time out but in reality he’s been rarely more than disappointing. Let alone the fates of far more deserving English strikers such as Jermaine Defoe and Andy Carroll. Hey, the big fella’s been scoring goals and he offers variety. That’s worth something.

The same goes in the midfield. Dele Alli and Eric Dier simply cannot be ignored. And if there’s anything fair in football than neither can Danny Drinkwater. But then you also have the likes of James Milner, Michael Carrick, Jordan Henderson, Fabian Delph and, yes, Jack Wilshere. And not only the conversation of who to pick but also the one of who to start, which may be the toughest one of all.

See it ain’t only about personnel, it’s about tactics and style. Both Spurs and Leicester have distinct ways of playing which are bringing about great success and you could argue that an amalgamation of those is the best way to go. High pressing and counter attacks. Lots of movement. But if you’re doing that then you need to prioritise the players who are regularly playing that way. Imagine a starting XI of: Hart / Walker, Stones, Smalling, Rose / Drinkwater, Dier / Vardy, Alli, Lallana / Kane.

That’ll upset a few fans but it’s also a team with a distinct purpose. How much fun would it be to see an England team playing with pace and aggression at the Euros?

Perhaps Drinkwater and Dier are too much of the same thing. It might be better with an ersatz N’Golo Kante to harry and hassle, so can Jordan Henderson do that? Maybe you go with Dier and Alli, as Spurs did earlier in the season and then you can fit in a Ross Barkley, who has had a fine season playing in behind Romelu Lukaku for Everton. Central defence is a major issue given neither Spurs or Leicester have an Englishmen there, although Chris Smalling has been playing well all campaign and Gary Cahill’s been very good recently himself. John Stones can’t seem to get a run at CB for Everton these days but he’s brilliant, he’s gotta be there and his buddy Phil Jagielka will make a decent enough alternative. As for the fullbacks, Nathaniel Clyne is good but how you can look past Kyle Walker is a mystery. Walker said before the season that this would be the year he started peaking. Many laughed, his manager did not. Turns out he was telling the truth.

There are a lot of questions in there. A lot of ifs and buts. That’s the task facing Roy Hodgson though. He’s been given a choice that very few England managers have had and now it’s up to him whether he risks it all on the upstarts or plays the conservative route that has usually failed them in the past. The last time a team from outside those main four won the Premier League was Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95. A 24 year old Alan Shearer would win the golden boot for them that season. A year later he would also claim the golden boot at Euro 1996 as England lost on penalties in the semi-final. There’s a hint in there if you want to take it.

Righto, let’s not be impartial any longer. Here’s the Wildcard’s England squad for Euro 2016:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, Fraser Forster, Ben Foster

Defenders: Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling, John Stones, Phil Jagielka, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Ryan Bertrand, Nathaniel Clyne

Midfielders: Dele Alli, Ross Barkley, James Milner, Danny Drinkwater, Raheem Sterling, Adam Lallana, Jordan Henderson

Forwards: Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck, Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge

• Jack Butland and Luke Shaw would be there were they only fit. Shaw might still be but he’s hardly played which is a shame for the best left back in England.
• Jack Wilshere is not getting in there until he plays a month without getting reinjured. Dan Sturridge may yet fall back into this category. Phil Jones already has.
• Not sure if Ben Foster would go as a third string or not, but I prefer him to Tom Heaton who’s replaced Joe Hart in the latest squad.
• I love a bit of Leighton Baines but he’s had an injury plagued season and has been slow to reintegrate himself since. His set-piece ability is a loss but he’s not been at the standard, sadly. Players like Kieron Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson and Calum Chambers aren’t good enough.
• Sorry Theo.
• Similar goes to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is a player I really like but he’s stuttered horribly this season. Feel bad for the lad, especially since a lot of it is out of his control.
• I also happen to think Ryan Shawcross a far better player than Phil Jagielka at this stage of their careers but I might be flogging a dead horse there based on previous caps.
• No Jonjo Shelvey, there are far better players.
• Ashley Young has been too brittle. Andros Townsend too rubbish. Aaron Lennon is good but a poor fit for the system.
• If it were entirely up to me then Michael Carrick would be there but Hodgson seems to hate him. The best English midfielder of the last five years and he’s only played 33 times. It’ll be too late for him after this tournament. I’d happily give him Jordan Henderson’s spot, not a huge fan tbh.
• Since Stones and Dier can both play right back, you could squeeze in another midfielder by dropping Clyne – which would be harsh on him.
• I’m not taking any of the Man Utd kids. Marcus Rashford will be a star but he’s 18 and there are too many players ahead of him. They don’t need to take the gamble. The older Jesse Lingaard could make a late case but it’s hard to see whose playing time he could take.
• England are better with Wayne Rooney. He’s only 30. He is not washed up at all, he just played in what was a stunted Man United team for the first half of the season. Also, he’s the captain and he’s going to be there no matter what you say.

The Wildcard’s England Euro 2016 Starting XI:

I’m taking Dier and Drinkwater for tactical reasons. Be physical, win possession and feed it to the guys ahead of them. Rose and Walker are there for pace and delivery into the box. It’s a 4-2-3-1 to suit the way most Premier League clubs are playing, though the inwards drifting attacking mids and the overlapping fullbacks are in the Spurs mould. Rooney plays with a free role that’ll mean a lot of dropping deep, knowing him, but then Alli has a licence to move inwards too. He’s played this possie for Spurs a bit and knows what to do. Kane is the focal point and he simply has to start, Welbeck is a player with pace and purpose who works damn hard and teams tend to be better when he’s there than not. Smalling and Cahill will get plenty of help from Dier sitting in as he does for Spurs, their job is to be dominating. Win headers, win tackles, block shots. Set a wall in front of Joe Hart. The likes of Milner, Barkley, Sturridge and Vardy on the bench for impact. Hey, I think that’s a damn good team to tell you the truth.