England face off against Switzerland this Saturday in a friendly, but following the announcement of Gareth Southgate’s squad who will start the game?
The friendly fixture is going to take place at 5:30 GMT at Wembley stadium.
Southgate has been forced to make changes to his initial squad after a number of players pulled out of the team through injury, with the latest seeing Fraser Forster given his first call up in five years in place of the injured Sam Johnstone in five years, with a view to making his first appearance in six.
The last time England hosted Switzerland at Wembley, Wayne Rooney over Sir Bobby Charlton’s record and became the countries all-time leading goalscorer in a 2-0 win in 2015.
The current captain Harry Kane also scored in that fixture, and currently sits just five behind Rooney’s record.
However, with the modern squad who will Southgate start with? Our prediction is below.
Southgate will opt for a number of his tried and trusted stars in the xi, but due to the current deficiencies of the squad at full-back he will hand full debuts to belatedly called up Crystal Palace and Southampton stars, Tyrick Mitchell and Kyle Walker-Peters, with Luke Shaw’s fitness levels up for debate.
Jordan Pickford, John Stones and Harry Maguire will make up the base of the teams spine, even though the likes of Ben White or Marc Guehi are more deserving of a starting spot based on current form.
Declan Rice will pair up with Jordan Henderson who will play a similar role to Kalvin Phillips at the Euro 2020 – a role the Liverpool captain plays at club level. Despite his struggles for England Mason Mount will be the final man in England’s central midfield due to his tireless work rate.
England player of the tournament Raheem Sterling will start at left-wing once again with Harry Kane up front, while Bukayo Saka will earn a starting berth due to his sensational performances at club level and continually impressive displays for England (the 2020 final aside).
Of course, Southgate could easily opt to throw in a few more curveballs, and could even deploy a back three, in which case you can expect White to come into the team likely in place of either Mount or Saka.
The full squad list is below:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Fraser Forster
Defenders: Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Tyrick Mitchell, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kyle Walker-Peters, Ben White
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse
Forwards: Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling, Ollie Watkins