The right call?
Gareth Southgate has made a huge call for England’s last 16 tie against Senegal on Sunday by opting to keep Phil Foden in the starting XI, but drop Marcus Rashford to the bench.
The England boss started Foden in the 3-0 win against Wales after plenty of demand from supporters to see the Manchester City star included in the side.
Foden repaid his faith with a goal and will start again at the Al Bayt Stadium according to the Daily Express.
Rashford meanwhile is reportedly set to miss out despite being the Three Lions’ top scorer at the tournament with three goals. The forward has been in exceptional form and scored a brace in the last games – including a stunning free-kick.
But even though he has proved his worth, Southgate is supposedly going to swap the Manchester United man out for Bukayo Saka, who started the tournament strongly with two goals in the win against Iran.
Kyle Walker and Jordan Henderson are set to keep their places in the starting XI too. Walker made his first appearance of the tournament in England’s final group game after missing the previous two through injury.
Henderson replaced Mason Mount and has seemingly done enough to keep his place in the side.
England face a Senegal side who have looked dangerous in their World Cup outings so far. The current Africa Cup of Nations holders qualified ahead of Ecuador from Group A after a dramatic final group stage fixture in which they beat the South Americans 2-1.
The winner of this tie will go on to play the winner of France vs Poland in the quarter-finals on Saturday December 10.
Related links:
- Harry Kane sends best wishes to ‘inspiration’ Pele as footballer receives end of life care
- New released footage shows controversial Japan goal against Spain was right to stand
- Harry Maguire gets rinsed in Ghanaian parliament
