Due to severe injury difficulties in the Three Lions roster, Gareth Southgate must make some significant decisions prior to his team’s game against the USA on Friday night.
On Monday, England’s World Cup got off to a great start with a 6-2 victory over Iran in Group B thanks to a brace from Bukayo Saka.
The victory gives England a great starting point as they take on the United States in their second game on Friday night in Qatar. Timothy Weah scored the game’s first goal with help from Christian Pulisic of Chelsea, but Gareth Bale’s late penalty tied the game for the USMNT versus Wales.
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They now face England, who will be inspired by their great performance on the first day of the tournament but who has some injury concerns going into the game. The fitness of captain Harry Kane, who had an ankle injury in the opening game before continuing to play for another 25 minutes, will be Gareth Southgate’s biggest concern.
Despite the fact that the 2018 Golden Boot winner was observed hobbling after the Iran victory, Kane underwent a scan on the injury that revealed no concerns, and Southgate announced that he will be available for the match on Friday.
With Marcus Rashford and Callum Wilson prepared to take Kane’s place in the forward line, the England manager will now have to decide whether to risk Kane against the USA.
Since Euro 2020, England has constantly used a 3-4-3 formation, but on Monday they switched back to a 4-2-3-1 formation and triumphed despite giving up two goals.
There is pressure on Southgate to make the same choice and secure another spectacular victory because he only used the same style once at last summer’s Euros, in the 4-0 quarterfinal victory against Ukraine.
Given that his team has already achieved their first victory, Southgate will also have to decide whether or not to hold onto additional players for the next games. Players like Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold might get an opportunity as Southgate perhaps changes up his lineup ahead of Tuesday’s match against Wales.
Alexander-Arnold scored his only England goal against the USA in a 2018 friendly while still eligible to play for the USA. The England manager is fortunate to have choices for his team’s second game and will be upbeat going into one of the most eagerly awaited group stage matches with one of the finest right-backs in the world available on his bench.
Here is the predicted England XI for the match against the USA on Friday night:
England predicted XI vs USA:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Jordan Pickford – Trent Alexander-Arnold, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw – Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice – Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling – Harry Kane