England manager prepared to give youth a chance

GARETH Southgate knows his bold approach could be risky but the England manager is ready to take a young and “fearless” squad to the World Cup.

Five-time world champions Brazil lie in wait tonight after Friday’s encouraging goalless draw with holders Germany, with experimentation replacing pragmatism as the Three Lions prepare for Russia.

Eric Dier will again captain an injury-hit England side that utilise a three-man defence and the youth at their disposal, with a trio of uncapped players pushing for their debuts after five made their international bows on Friday.

Jordan Pickford, Joe Gomez and man-of-the-match Ruben LoftusCheek impressed their boss on a night when the youngsters showed more in one match “than you might see in many more games players”.

Southgate says their emergence is creating “opportunities” rather than selection headaches and the England manager will not shy away from backing youth next summer.

“I will go with what I think is the best squad,” Southgate said. “At the moment I believe the best would include a lot of those young players.

“It’s easy to be swayed at times by from other needing experience but you can have 100 experiences of the same thing or 10 different experiences that make you a more rounded person.

“What is the experience and what value it brings is a very individual thing.

“These young players have also had experience of winning youth tournaments, playing high level matches and challenges to get to where they are in their path.”