England are almost there.
A win against Slovenia at Wembley will seal their spot at next summer’s World Cup in Russia, presenting them with yet another opportunity to underperform and depart a major tournament prematurely.
As is always the case in the days before an England international, Three Lions fans have had plenty to bicker about regarding Gareth Southgate’s squad selection for their final World Cup qualifying fixtures. For a start, the news that the England boss had promoted Tottenham youngster Harry Winks to the senior squad from the under21s earlier in the week didn’t go down well with everyone.
With this in mind, there’s been a predictable reaction to the reports that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is expected to start the Slovenia game…
Having started the season with Arsenal, The Ox made a move to Liverpool late in the transfer window. Since then, it’s fair to say he’s struggled to reach his peak performance levels – perhaps the best example of this coming in the League Cup defeat he and his teammates suffered at Leicester.
Added to his poor form, the fact that he’s hardly featured for his new club has also seen many question Southgate’s decision to name him in his starting XI.
https://twitter.com/lynky11/status/915977359504887808
Oxlade-Chamberlain starting tonight! Have I missed something here, 1 start, 5 substitute since at Liv. #ENGSLO 🙈
— Mark Harsant (@HarseyMark) October 5, 2017
Southgate will pick players on form…. Ox starts you taking the piss.. he's been on the bench.
— Joshua Visser (@JoshuaVisser) October 5, 2017
Oxlade Chamberlain:
Can’t start for Liverpool
But consistently gets picked England 🤔🤔.
It’s coming home.
— Matty (@Scott9M) October 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/whatgap/status/915912321821741057
https://twitter.com/jackworth5/status/915989564447129602
How can the Ox start for England tonight…. plus 2 CDMs wtf……
— Jason white (@Jasonwhite46) October 5, 2017
Here’s the confirmed England line-up:
Here's the #ThreeLions line-up aiming to secure @FIFAWorldCup qualification this evening 👍 pic.twitter.com/Rd6IRZUXxm
— England (@England) October 5, 2017
