Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes there are up to four places up for grabs in England’s starting eleven for the Three Lions’ opening game of the World Cup in Qatar and the next two matches will be crucial in deciding who fills them.
The ex-England international, who earned 38 caps, believes the next UEFA Nations League games, which begin tonight when the Three Lions take on Italy in Milan, before facing Germany on Monday, will be ‘massive’ in deciding who makes the plane.
England meet Iran on November 21 at the Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, but with the World Cup falling right in the middle of the European season, there will be no time for warm up games after these two intriguing fixtures.
Luke Shaw is under pressure to retain his England spot at the World Cup while manager Gareth Southgate has shown faith in Harry Maguire
And yet as a result of injuries and poor form, England manager Gareth Southgate has question marks over the defence and midfield, which powered his team to the final of Euro 2020 only 14 months ago.
‘These are massively important games for Gareth Southgate thinking what his team will be going into that World Cup,’ Carragher told Sportsmail. ‘No warm up games [this time], so it is a strange season.
‘I think Southgate will know the seven or eight players who will start in that first game and there will be two or three positions up for grabs and that is for players to seize them.
‘I think centre back is going to be interesting, left back as well and just the fact that Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw have not played an awful lot of football for Manchester United.
Gareth Southgate will be using mstches against Italy and Germany to make key decisions
‘I don’t think we have great cover at centre back, or we haven’t over the last couple of years, and at left back Kieran Trippier has played there, who is a right-footed player, which is never easy. I think those two areas [will be interesting].’
Source : dailymail
