England will look to make it two wins in two when they face Panama in their second outing at the 2018 World Cup on Sunday afternoon.
Gareth Southgate’s side left it late against Tunisia, but they eventually secured all three points to get their tournament underway with a vital victory.
However, with the chance to secure qualification now ahead of them alongside Belgium, they’ll be hoping to avoid any upsets and get the job done to start thinking about their potential last-16 opponents.
After Dele Alli was seen moving gingerly in that win over Tunisia in the first half, albeit he continued until the 80th minute before eventually being replaced, it’s been claimed that the Tottenham man will drop out against Panama.
As per ESPN, Southgate had confirmed that decision already, but The Guardian note that that will be England’s only change from the line-up that defeated Tunisia.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek will step in for Alli, as per the Guardian, while if their insight is accurate, that means Raheem Sterling will keep his place despite a frustrating start to his World Cup.
The 23-year-old is coming off the back of an impressive campaign after helping Manchester City lift the Premier League title, scoring 23 goals and providing 17 assists in 46 appearances in all competitions.
With that in mind, Southgate has seemingly opted to keep faith in him, and that will surely be a major boost for Sterling’s confidence too as he looks to bounce back and silence the detractors.
Time will tell if the Guardian have successfully predicted the England XI, but the important thing for Southgate and his players regardless of who starts is that they get the right result against Panama to emerge from Group G and advance in the World Cup in Russia.