[ad_1]
England can take another big step towards next year’s World Cup in Qatar when they face Hungary at Wembley on Tuesday night.
Gareth Southgate’s side are four points clear of second-placed Albania in Group I after their 5-0 win in Andorra on Saturday and another win at Wembley would put them on the brink of qualifying.
England will have to wait until the international break in November to be certain of their place at next year’s tournament, regardless of Tuesday’s results, but the momentum is with them after another strong qualifying campaign.
Is Foden’s future in midfield?
There’s not much to be learned from a meeting with a team ranked 156th in the world, but the victory over Andorra at least allowed Phil Foden to plead for a starting place in central midfield.
The 21-year-old has been mostly used on the flanks by Pep Guardiola and Southgate since his senior breakthrough for club and country, but his future has long been seen in midfield and his performance against Andorra has offered a glimpse of why .
Foden was the outstanding performer at Andorra’s National Stadium, his deeper role allowing him to dictate play and show off his excellent passing range as he repeatedly sent England forward on offense .
Air sports Expert Roy Keane has compared him to legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady – “he just picks people… he makes things look so easy,” he said – while that Southgate was also impressed.
“It’s fabulously exciting, isn’t it?” the England boss said afterwards. “When you try to break a defense like we were tonight, and you have a player who can see the passes he sees and execute them like he did.”
The question now is whether Foden’s performance will persuade Southgate to give him another chance in the central midfielder against stronger opposition on Tuesday.
England’s starting lineup will likely be very different against Hungary, but with Kalvin Philipps out due to injury there is an opening in the squad alongside Declan Rice.
Southgate may go for the Jordan Henderson experience instead, but with Foden now developing a physique alongside his innate technical abilities, it may not be long before the Manchester City star takes on a central role more frequently. for England.
“He’s getting stronger and stronger, so it’s exciting for us that one of those midfield positions is a possibility,” Southgate added.
Who replaces Maguire?
Southgate insists John Stones is not in danger of losing his place in England despite struggling for playing time with Manchester City.
Stones hasn’t played a single minute for Guardiola’s side this season, but he has started three of England’s last four games, including Saturday’s win over Andorra, and Southgate has no concerns about his lack of action at club level.
“John, when he returns [to City], will have many games, “he said this week.” Everyone knows his quality, so he will be in the squad and I don’t think that will be a problem in the future. “
His early withdrawal against Andorra suggests Southgate wanted to keep him cool for the game against Hungary, but with Harry Maguire unavailable due to a calf problem, the identity of his center-back partner at Wembley remains to be seen.
Conor Coady hopes to keep his place after a strong performance against Andorra but the Wolves man has rarely been tested defensively and the same goes for Fikayo Tomori, who played the last half hour of this match, only his second for the ‘England, after replacing the Stones. .
That leaves Tyrone Mings as the more realistic option for Southgate. The Aston Villa man is left-handed, which means he offers a different dimension to other England center-back options, and he has already amassed considerable experience having won 14 international caps since his debut in 2019.
Another possibility for Southgate would be to move up to a third, but England have not used this system since their 2-0 victory over Germany in Euro 2020. A defensive axis of the Stones and Mings seems more likely.
Kane up front but who’s backing him?
Harry Kane is expected to return to the front after Tammy Abraham gets a chance to impress against Andorra and there are plenty of players vying for positions on either side of him.
Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling may be the favorites to start getting named from the bench on Saturday, but they’re not the only ones in contention.
Bukayo Saka scored for his 20th birthday against Andorra last month and found the net against the same opponent on Saturday. The popular Arsenal winger continues to win internationally after impressing England’s run to the Euro 2020 final.
The tournament ended in heartbreak for Saka, of course his missed penalty proved decisive in the shootout loss to Italy, but he responded impressively to that setback and there were signs resumption in the performance of Jadon Sancho on Saturday also.
The former Borussia Dortmund winger had a rocky start to life at Manchester United following his £ 73million change this summer, but he provided two assists against Andorra and Southgate was subsequently praised with the England boss asking for patience as he finds his feet in Old Trafford.
“For a young player to have such a big change in his life, a new league, a new club, a different style of play, a different training regime, a return to Manchester, a move and all that entails , that’s a lot to take into account, “he said.
“It will take time but he showed a lot of his qualities [against Andorra] and I know that will come with the club as well. “
Whether as the start or on the bench, Sancho, like Saka, is hoping to impress again against Hungary.
Opta stats – England’s qualifying prowess
- England have won their last 21 major tournament qualifiers at home, scoring 73 goals and conceding seven since the 1-1 draw against Ukraine in September 2012.
- England have only been beaten once in their last 54 major tournament qualifiers (W43, D10), with the loss coming to the Czech Republic in October 2019. England have scored 40 goals altogether. by only conceding twice in such matches since that loss.
- Thirty-six of Harry Kane’s 41 goals in England have been scored in international competitions. Only Wayne Rooney (37) has ever scored more goals in competitive games for England than Kane. Rooney scored one every 154 minutes, while Kane averaged one every 118 minutes.
- Bukayo Saka marked his 20th birthday when he last appeared at Wembley for England against Andorra – at 20 years and 37 days. He could become the youngest English player to score in consecutive Wembley appearances, breaking the record currently held by Jimmy Greaves (20, 249th in October 1960).
- Harry Kane has scored nine goals in 13 appearances for England in 2021. If he scored again, he would become only the second player to score 10 or more goals in more than a calendar year for the Three Lions, after in to have scored 12 in 2019. The other was Vivian Woodward, who scored 10 in 1908 and 11 in 1909.
- England are unbeaten in their last 14 matches against Hungary in all competitions (12 v., N. 2) since their 2-1 defeat at the 1962 World Cup under Walter Winterbottom.
- Hungary lost nine of their 10 away games to England – their other was a famous 6-3 win at Wembley in November 1953 in which Nandor Hidegkuti scored a hat-trick and the Three Lions conceded six goals at Wembley for what remains the only time.
When can England qualify?
England only need two more wins to be sure of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar following Saturday’s 5-0 win over Andorra.
Gareth Southgate’s side are four points ahead of second-placed Albania at the top of Group I after seven games, with just three games remaining.
England host fourth-placed Hungary on Tuesday night, but even if they win at Wembley and Albania loses at home to third-place Poland on the same night, that wouldn’t confirm the Three Lions’ move to the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
England then ended their qualifying campaign by entertaining Albania on November 12 when three points would secure them first place in the group, before heading to San Marino three days later.
However, with only first place signifying qualifying, there is still little room for error – especially since reaching Qatar with second place is not easy.
How to follow England’s World Cup qualifiers
England face Hungary at Wembley on Tuesday 12 October (kick off 7:45 p.m.) and you can follow the game via our minute-by-minute live on both Air sports app and website, with free match summaries also available on both platforms from 11pm.
Free highlights will be available on the Air sports website and app, as well as the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel, from 11 p.m.
[ad_2]
Source link
