England are in Amsterdam for an international friendly as they begin their preparations for the World Cup.
Gareth Southgate’s side take on the Netherlands at The Johan Cruyff Arena, with several places on the plane to Russia potentially up for grabs. For the match, the England boss has named an experimental line-up and starts with a 3-4-2-1 formation.
With Harry Kane, the team’s top striker and best player, unavailable due to an ankle injury, Marcus Rashford gets the nod to start up front. Jamie Vardy, in excellent form for Leicester City this season, will begin the match on the bench. Southgate named four goalkeepers in the squad for the friendly and opted for Jordan Pickford in the starting XI.
At the back, England named three full-backs (four if you include Joe Gomez, who can play at right-back). Kyle Walker has been selected to play in a back-three alongside Gomez and John Stones, with Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose in the wing-back positions.
However, Alan Shearer raised a good point about the selection of Walker in central defence, asking how the other defenders in the squad, including James Tarkowski and Alfie Mawson, feel seeing a full-back start ahead of them.
I wonder what the other centre halves are thinking seeing a right back play ahead them?🤔#NEDENG https://t.co/gz1pumGhgo
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) March 23, 2018
Here’s the team in full:
Here it is – your #ThreeLions teamsheet for #NEDENG. 📋 pic.twitter.com/dKoKO1RlNU
— England (@England) March 23, 2018
