England team news: Gareth Southgate to put trust in youngsters for Belgium World Cup match ahead of Euro 2020 challenge

Simon Johnson13 July 2018

The vast majority of international coaches are forced to wait before starting the healing process after a painful World Cup exit, but Gareth Southgate can get a head start on Saturday.

There are few supporters of the third-place play-off and, judging by his comments immediately after losing to Croatia, England’s manager is not an admirer, either.

However, now that some of the raw emotion from the extra-time defeat has subsided, Southgate must view a rematch with Belgium as a welcome opportunity.

The next international fixtures are not until September, but Southgate has a free hit here to work on some new ideas and have another look at his back-up options.

He is expected to make a number of changes, just as he did when the two sides met in Kaliningrad a fortnight ago to determine who progressed from Group G in top spot.

Many of the extras in Southgate’s 23-man cast did not do enough then to warrant a lead role, yet that can change at the St Petersburg Stadium, against a Belgium team who are taking the prospect of winning the bronze medal seriously.

One suspects the England players with the most to gain from Saturday's clash here are Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Marcus Rashford. Aged 19, 22 and 20 respectively, these three players have at least two more opportunities to go to a World Cup. Even though they would have wished to feature more during this tournament, they will have benefited from the experience gained so far, and helping the Three Lions to victory over Belgium now would look impressive on their CVs.

When the two sides met first time around, the trio had mixed fortunes. Alexander-Arnold started strongly at right wing-back, took some good set-pieces but faded. Loftus-Cheek was the opposite. He did not really get into the contest until the second half but once the Chelsea midfielder’s confidence grew, those trademark surging runs past opponents were back on view.

In Pictures | England vs Croatia, World Cup semi-final | 11/07/2018

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As for Rashford, his performance epitomised his career thus far: lots to get excited about, yet not enough end product. His failure to convert a one-on-one against Thibaut Courtois not only consigned England to defeat, it may also have cost Rashford a place in the line-up for the last-16 tie against Colombia.

The men ahead of them in the pecking order will be hard to dislodge.

Alexander-Arnold has to compete with Kieran Trippier; Loftus-Cheek appears to be in a straight fight with close friend Dele Alli; and Rashford has Raheem Sterling to deal with.

The gap in quality between them is not insurmountable but they still have to prove they can close it when wearing an England shirt. Others will be feeling the same way. Take Jack Butland, for example. Barring a serious ankle injury suffered in 2016, he could have been England’s first-choice goalkeeper for the past two years.

Jordan Pickford, who wants to feature against Belgium to improve his chances of being named the tournament’s best goalkeeper, will be hard to dislodge — just ask some of the strikers that have been denied here — but Butland is a fine keeper in his own right.

Set to feature: Danny Rose
PA

Another sure to feature is Danny Rose. His mistake against Adnan Januzaj led to Belgium’s goal and ensured the right-footed Ashley Young regained his place at left wing-back.

The Manchester United man will be 35 at the next European Championships, though, so Southgate will already be casting his eye on those who can provide competition for Rose in 2020. Ryan Sessegnon, despite playing in a more attacking role for Fulham last season, will surely be on Southgate’s radar.

It is unlikely Gary Cahill will make 2020. Indeed, as he told Standard Sport yesterday, this is probably going to be his 62nd and final cap.

For the Chelsea centre-back, this match represents an occasion to end a memorable summer on a high.

Heartbroken England fans after World Cup semi-final defeat

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“One thing I said coming into the tournament is that I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, trophy-wise, with my club career,” he explained. “But there was one thing that has been missing — and that is having a good experience with the national team in a tournament.

“I’ve had many good experiences in terms of winning individual games, qualifying games, scoring a goal for my country, but I’ve never had a tournament where I’ve come away thinking, ‘Wow, that was good’.

“This was a different tournament for me because I didn’t play too much, but looking at this young England squad, everyone should be feeling positive about the future.

“If we keep the squad growing and progressing in the way that I’ve seen here, it is only a matter of time before they get their hands on some silverware.”

Beating Belgium could provide the next step to doing just that.

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