England boss Gareth Southgate has some big decisions to make for his side’sEuro 2020 qualifier against Bulgaria at Wembley on Saturday evening.
The Three Lions are in action for the first time since the UEFA Nations League finals in Portugal in the summer, where Southgate’s men lost 3-1 to the Netherlands in the semi-finals before beating Switzerland on penalties in their third-place playoff.
Southgate used that clash with the Swiss to give some of the fringe members of his squad a game, but he is set to return to the majority of the team that began their Euro 2020 qualifiers with convincing victories over the Czech Republic and Montenegro in March.
England saw off the Czechs 5-0 at Wembley with Raheem Sterling plundering a hat-trick, while Sterling also netted in the 5-1 win in Montenegro three days later, in which Ross Barkley scored twice.
After those results, the England boss is warning against complacency ahead of the Bulgaria clash.
“We have got to take care of qualification,” said Southgate.
“We have everything to prove in terms of world rankings. We are competitive against any team, but any team is capable of beating us.
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“We have to strive to improve the mentality of the team, they are hungry to do that. We want to push each other every day in training and take those performances onto the field. “
Early suggestions are that Kieran Trippier could be preferred to Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, with theLiverpoolman then coming in for the Atletico Madrid full- back when the Three Lions host Kosovo at Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium on Tuesday.
Declan Rice is set to play the holding midfield role, behind Jordan Henderson and Barkley.
Predicted England XI: Pickford, Trippier, Keane, Maguire, Rose, Rice, Henderson, Barkley, Sterling, Rashford, Kane
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