Gareth Southgate explains why he dropped Arsenal star Bukayo Saka and Chelsea’s Mason Mount for England’s FIFA World Cup game against Wales
England boss Gareth Southgate has explained his team selection for his side's FIFA World Cup clash against Wales on Tuesday (November 29) after dropping Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka.
The Three Lions are in Group B alongside Wales, the USA and Iran. Southgate's side are top of the table with four points and will most probably qualify for the knockout stages of this year's FIFA World Cup.
England will have to lose by a substantial four goals in their clash against Wales for their place in the last-16 to come under threat.
Your #ThreeLions team news is in! 📋 https://t.co/CdisdXcSTv
Ahead of the encounter, Southgate has given his reasons for choosing Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford in his starting XI over the Arsenal forward and the Chelsea midfielder. He said (via Metro):
"We think [Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford] can cause Wales problems and we felt it was important to get some freshness in the team as well. They have both trained really well and we’re looking forward to them playing tonight."
Addressing Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker's selection over Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold, he added:
"Kyle [Walker] is ready to start now and we think it’s good to get him in the team. We want to get the result tonight that takes us into the next round. For Kyle to get some football will be helpful. We haven’t talked about it being a derby. There has been a lot of noise around us and around this game but we have to focus on our football and make sure our work rate and endeavour is higher than the opponent."
Gary Neville lavishes praise on Chelsea star at 2022 FIFA World Cup
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has heaped praise on Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva after his stunning performance in Brazil's victory over Switzerland at the FIFA World Cup. He admired Silva's ambition to push up the pitch even at 38 years of age.
Casemiro scored a late winner in the 83rd minute to take Brazil into the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup. The Selecao, including Silva, fought hard in the second half and put in a strong performance.
Neville said, hailing the Chelsea defender (via football.london):
"They [Brazil] push up the pitch unbelievably. don’t know how Thiago Silva at his age pushes up the pitch, to get in front of your forward all the time to try and win it is one of the hardest things to do, he’s still doing that late into his 30s, it’s unbelievable."
Thiago Silva is still going strong 🍷 https://t.co/vgKECJPp7P