EnglandvsBulgariaLIVE
Euro 2020 qualifying: Group A
Venue:Wembley Stadium
Kick-off time: 5pm BST today
England resume theirEuro 2020qualification bid on Saturday as Bulgaria come to town.
The Three Lions are already in a comfortable position in Group A after scoring 10 goals in thumping wins over Czech Republic and Montenegro.
Bulgaria are winless after four qualifiers and should suffer another loss atWembleyStadium.
Live Updates
2 mins |Sterling wins a corner early on, scampering down the inside right after Kane’s clever run inside left space for him.
Bulgaria fail to clear the corner, prompting Rashford to lash one on goal but his effort is blocked.
KICK OFF
And we are underway at Wembley!
Gareth Southgate has been speaking to ITV, explaining his decision to pick Kieran Trippier over Trent Alexander Arnold.
“He has had a very good start to season. Last year was difficult for him but he’s got a new lease of life under Diego Simeone with a new challenge and he’s flourishing.“
Last time out
England cruised past Bulgaria in their last Wembley meeting with Jermain Defoe netting a hat-trick in a 4-0 win in a Euro (qualifier.)
England vs Bulgaria stat pack
- England have won 22 of their last 25 World Cup or European Championship qualifiers at home – their last defeat was back in 2007.
- Gareth Southgate’s side are looking for their 16 th consecutive home win in qualifying, shipping just three goals in that period.
- The Three Lions are also unbeaten against Bulgaria over the years, picking up six wins and four draws.
- Raheem Sterling has four goals from England’s two qualifiers – the best minutes-per-goal ratio in qualifying so far.
- Bulgaria have not qualified for major international tournament since 2004.
Tyrone Mings, Mason Mount and James Maddison are all in line for their international debuts.
Gareth Southgate did not experiment with his England team for the Euro 2020 qualifier against Bulgaria at Wembley as Kieran Trippier earned a recall.
The Atletico Madrid right-back, who left Tottenham in the close season, was handed a start, having been dropped for the summer’s Nations League finals.
Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard is the only notable absentee as he has left the squad due to illness and will play no part in Tuesday’s game with Kosovo.
Lingard misses out
England have confirmed that Jesse Lingard has returned to Manchester United after suffering from illness.
You may not think Lingard is a big loss considering his general lack of goals or assists for United, but Southgate certainly likes him.
Still, that could well mean a debut for Mason Mount.
Team news
England XI:Pickford; Trippier, Keane, Maguire, Rose; Henderson, Rice, Barkley; Sterling, Rashford, Kane
Subs:Heaton, Pope, Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Gomez, Mings, Winks, Mount, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Maddison, Sancho, Wilson
Bulgaria XI:I liev, S. Popov, Bodurov, Bozhikov, Nedyalkov, Sarmov, Ivanov, I. Popov, Malinov, Wanderson, Marcelino
Rashford looking to Kane for inspiration
Marcus Rashford has revealed Harry Kane’s prowess in front of goal is driving him on to better things. Rashford, who has 10 international goals, is likely to line up alongside Kane today. Captain Kane harbors an impressive scoring rate for his country, but is even more prolific in training.
And Rashford tries to compete with his team-mate in shooting drills to make himself a better player.
“We use each other’s strengths to make each other better and if you watch training, then you’d see how it all works, “he said.
” I could use Harry Kane as an example, he’s one of the best finishers that I’ve played with and whenever we do finishing, in my head, it’s about being as close to him as possible.
“So if he scores six, you want to score six, if he scores seven, you want to score eight. So little things like that are the bits that people never see, even though we’re fighting for the same position, or to be in the same team, we really do drive each other on.
“It’s very important that you have that sort of atmosphere within a team.”
Southgate wants England to lift spirits amid Brexit chaos
Gareth Southgate is “conscious” that England are tasked with helping to give the nation a feel-good factor amid an uncertain political backdrop.
With confusion and unpredictability surrounding Brexit and a potential general election, the United Kingdom still seemingly remains divided.
The Three Lions helped alleviate such concerns for a period on their run to the World Cup semi-finals last summer but the unrest remains.
With the England cricket team – and in particular the superb Ashes Test-winning innings from Ben Stokes almost a fortnight ago lifting spirits – Southgate is now aware it is he and his players who many will turn to for light relief.
Asked if football can give the country something to feel good about, he told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Yes, I’m very conscious of that. We have helped to provide joy at a time when there isn’t a lot about for people. The cricket team have done that in a couple of significant moments already this year and I have loved watching that.
“We all love those moments, sport should do that – sport should take you away from the day-to-day and allow us to dream and allow us to be excited about things that, in the overall scheme of things aren’t important, there are far more important things but we can bring joy to people and it is a privilege to be in a position to be able to do it. “
Popov seeking a piece of history
Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov hopes he can add some memorabilia to his collection today.
Striker Popov owns the shirt of the only Bulgaria international to score at England’s national stadium, having bought Georgi Asparuhov’s shirt at an auction.
Asparuhov scored in a 1- 1 draw with the Three Lions in 1968 in a game where Geoff Hurst also netted and Popov is dreaming of following in his footsteps in a Euro 2020 qualifier.
He will lead his side out today, having been part of the team who were defeated 4-0 at Wembley in a Euro 2012 qualifier nine years ago.
He said on Friday: “It is every player’s dream, everyone wants to score at Wembley, I bought the shirt at an auction and it is mine. “
ES COVERAGE
Welcome to the Evening Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Euro 2020 qualifier between England and Bulgaria at Wembley Stadium.
Can’t see theEngland vs Bulgaria LIVE: Euro 2020 qualifying blog? Click herefor the desktop version.
Team news and line-ups
Gareth Southgate did not experiment with his England team as Kieran Trippier earned a recall.
The Atletico Madrid right-back, who left Tottenham in the close season, was handed a start, having been dropped for the summer’s Nations League finals.
Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard is the only notable absentee as he has left the squad due to illness and will play no part in Tuesday’s game with Kosovo.
England XI:Pickford; Trippier, Keane, Maguire, Rose; Henderson, Rice, Barkley; Sterling, Rashford, Kane
Subs:Heaton, Pope, Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Gomez, Mings, Winks, Mount, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Maddison, Sancho, Wilson
Bulgaria XI:I liev, S. Popov, Bodurov, Bozhikov, Nedyalkov, Sarmov, Ivanov, I. Popov, Malinov, Wanderson, Marcelino
Subs:Slavchev, Pashov, Goranov, Daniel Mladenov, Terziev, Lukov, Kristian Dimitrov, Nikolay Dimitrov, Hristo Ivanov, Milanov, Despodov, Kraev.
Prediction: England 3-0 Bulgaria
England should not be tested too much by Bulgaria, who have just two points from their first four qualifiers.
Gareth Southgate will be able to name a team capable of securing the points while giving a few newer names some international minutes.
The squad will know a win at Wembley, followed by another at St. Augustine Mary’s against Kosovo three days later, will have them firmly on the road to the finals.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will be shown live on ITV from 4. 30 PM. The channel is Free To Air in the UK, and can be live streamed online for free via the ITV Hub.
Viewers in the UK can stream the game live online for free on the (ITV Hub) .
Head to Head history and results (h2h)
The two nations have faced each other 10 times, with England winning six and never losing.
The last game also came in European Championship qualifying as England won 4-0 at Wembley and then 3-0 in Sofia.
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