Who Would Win in Football Between a North England XI and South England XI?

Who Would Win in Football Between a North England XI and South England XI?

It has long been debated about what is better, the North or South of England. So today we will be seeing what side of the country has made the better footballers and what team would win in a head-to-head match. The rules will be that to qualify for the team, you have to have been born in a place from either the North or England or the South of England.

Team North Starting XI

• Goalkeeper – Jordan Pickford (Everton)
• Left Back – Luke Shaw (Manchester United)
• Centre Back – John Stones (Manchester City)
• Centre Back – Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
• Right Back – Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid)
• Central Midfielder – Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
• Central Midfielder – Curtis Jones (Liverpool)
• Attacking Midfielder – Phil Foden (Manchester City)
• Left Wing – Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United)
• Striker – Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
• Right Wing – Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

This team is very well balanced. The defence is fitted very well; Pickford is a great shot stopper and very experienced. Someone who has many caps for England and has worked with both defenders in front of him. Maguire, as seen for England, works well together. Stones will be the ball-playing defender, someone who can step up and play the passes, while Maguire is the out-and-out defensive centre-back. In terms of the fullbacks, Shaw can invert into the defensive trio, having played centre back before. This will allow Trent to push forward and help the midfield and attack.

Adding into this, you have the passing ability and football intelligence from Wharton, who will be the anchor at the base of the midfield. With Jones being the player who is able to deploy as a more box-to-box player in this system. Finally, you have the attacking flair and creativity of Foden as the ace of the middle. He will be able to create chances and drive forward with the ball for this team, getting it to the forwards.

For the forwards, they speak about themselves. Gordon is one of England's best current left wingers, a quick and dynamic winger who can play across the front 3, allowing for flexibility. He is able to score and create and will cause issues for the defence of the South team. Palmer will add the extra creativity to Foden. Both finding pockets of space and looking for those creative passes. Finally, they have the goal machine leading the line. Haaland is the technicality in this team; while Norwegian, he qualifies for this team. Born in Leeds, he is a northern-born player and therefore gets into this team.

Leeds born and Leeds fan Erling Håland scored a hat-trick on his Champions League debut tonight. The 19 year old said in February 2017 "The dream is to win the Premier League with Leeds". pic.twitter.com/bxyjlcDaJx

— Barry O'Mahony (@barryomahony_9) September 17, 2019

Overall, this team is very strong and will take some stopping. They have a balanced core with plenty of creativity and scoring threat. The South will have a very difficult time being able to break this team down while stopping them from scoring.

So, what does the South’s team look like?

Team South Starting XI

• Goalkeeper – Nick Pope (Newcastle United)
• Left Back – Lewis Hall (Newcastle United)
• Centre Back – Levi Colwill (Chelsea)
• Centre Back – Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)
• Right Back – Reece James (Chelsea)
• Central Midfielder – Declan Rice (Arsenal)
• Central Midfielder – Connor Gallagher (Tottenham Hotspur)
• Central Attacking Midfielder – Michael Olise (Bayern Munchen)
• Left Wing – Eberechi Eze (Arsenal)
• Striker – Harry Kane (Bayern Munchen)
• Right Wing – Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

This team is an interesting team for balance. They have a lot of younger players and players reaching their primes. Their defence is all round solid. Pope is a good shot stopper and someone who can play the ball out from the back. In front of him you have the combination of experience and ability with Konsa and Colwill. Both are very good defensively as well as at playing the ball out from the back. They also have the ability of 2 very strong fullbacks next to them. Hall and James are both elite at going forward and creating as well as solid defensively. Their defence will be able to move the ball forward very well.

The middle is where it gets a bit shaky for the South team. While Rice can play as the deeper player and was developed to play there, it isn’t his best position. However, this is a sacrifice needed to allow Olise to work his magic in that attacking position. With a connection with both Kane and Eze, Olise will cause a lot of problems. Gallagher will also provide help for both Rice and Olise. With his almost unlimited stamina and work rate, he will be able to run up and down the pitch, covering and supplying help for both of them.

The attack will work magic. Kane is one of the best strikers in the world as well as a leader. His finishing and creative ability are second to none as a striker. Adding onto that, Eze and Saka will also be creative sparks in the team. The only issue they might find is their attacking line might look to be too creative and not have the person to put them away if Kane drops deep. However, with Olise, they should still have a lot of firepower.

Overall Verdict

The teams on paper are relatively even matches. The goalkeeper – the North edges it, both with English keepers; however, with Pickford being the number 1, it makes him the favourite to win that battle.

Left back is an interesting position, as we have an ageing Luke Shaw for the North's team against a young Lewis Hall for the South. In terms of current ability and form, Lewis Hall just edges it out. Levelling the score.

Centre backs are also very interesting, with almost the past of England’s defensive duo against the possible future one. It would almost be a combination of both sides making the final cut, with a fully fit John Stones just beating Levi Colwill and Konsa beating Harry Maguire.

Now right back, and it’s an age-old debate. Trent vs Reece James. With James now looking back to his best while Trent is suffering with injuries. As it stands, James takes this point; while Trent is slightly better going forward, James has that extra defensive ability alongside his excellent attacking ability.

Reece James is better than Trent Alexander Arnold, here’s a thread that prove it.

A Eye-opener thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/T1QSu41TES

— JS19🇬🇧 (@js19nine) January 5, 2025

Midfielders once again look to be an equal split. While Gallagher is the better box-to-box and has the engine on Jones, Jones has the technical ability that Gallagher doesn’t have. However, Rice takes it over Wharton. His ability and all-round play are more complete as a result of his extra experience. This makes the score 4-3 to the South.

Olise against Foden is a very interesting one. As it currently stands, while Foden is having an amazing season, Olise is just on a different level. He is one of the best players in the world currently and he takes this win as a result.

Left-wingers is a position that the North will take. While Eze is an incredible player, Gordon just has that form on Eze as well as extra experience in that position. His pace and ability to cut in and shoot just edges it out to the North.

Right winger is a very interesting debate. Both players will be vital for their teams in different ways. Saka will have that creative ability with crosses and cause issues by cutting in. However, Palmer will be able to pick up the pockets of space and damage the South team by doing that. Neither are in their greatest form; however, Palmer will just edge this one, taking the scores level.

With the score at 5 to 5, we move to the final position and that is the strikers. It will be a competition between Erling Haaland and Harry Kane to see what team wins.

We have the top scorer in the Premier League facing the top scorer in the Bundesliga. Haaland this season has already scored 32 goals in his 41 matches and has been the goal-scoring machine for City again. However, Kane has scored 44 goals this season in his 40 matches for Bayern Munich. Overall, with 50 goal contributions, including 8 goals in the Champions League, Harry Kane takes the point. This means that the victory goes to the South.

The overall score goes in favour of the South winning 6-5.