Gareth Southgate has warned absent England stars that they could be replaced in next year’s World Cup squad as a new generation of talented young players emerges.
Southgate was unable to call upon a number of senior players - including Danny Drinkwater, Jordan Henderson and Harry Winks - for last Friday’s match against Germany and for tonight’s clash against Brazil.
So the England boss instead named younger stars including Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Tammy Abraham and Joe Gomez in his squad, and they have impressed both in training and in the 0-0 draw with world champions Germany.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Asked by The Times if the old guard should fear for their places, Southgate said: “Yes. That’s what you want to get to as a team, that the competition for places is so intense. [Philippe] Coutinho hasn’t played for a few weeks for Liverpool, but he is there for Brazil.
“I imagine part of that is because he is thinking, ‘If I’m not there and I’m not playing and someone else goes in, do I get the shirt back?’
“Maybe we haven’t had that, but moving forward we will have and that will affect people’s approach, definitely.”
After impressing on his debut, Loftus-Cheek is expected to retain his spot against Brazil tonight, but young keeper Jordan Pickford will make way for Joe Hart.
Other expected changes could see Marcus Rashford named in attack, Kyle Walker and Ryan Bertrand brought in at full back, and Gary Cahill replacing the injured Phil Jones. Eric Dier will continue as captain.
Under-21s stars Angus Gunn, Lewis Cook and Dominic Solanke are also being called up - a decision that Southgate is confident will pay off.
“I think about the risk I’m taking, but I think it is the right decision for England,” Southgate told the Daily Mail. “I think I was given the job because I understand the pathway and how to join the whole thing up. But I can’t control, if we have moments of pressure, how other people respond.
“If you’re a manager and you worry about that, it inhibits your decisions. You can become risk averse, and there’s a danger that if you’re risk averse, you can forget about trying to win and [just] try not to lose.”
Meanwhile, Brazil head to Wembley with a full-strength squad including Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Philippe Coutinho, Dani Alves and Roberto Firmino.
How to watch England vs. Brazil on TV
Kicking off at 8pm tonight at Wembley Stadium, the match will be shown live on ITV1 and online via the ITV Hub.
