Southgate fired up to seal finals spot in style

England boss Gareth Southgate is looking forward to securing a World Cup finals place in style.

Victory at Wembley against Slovenia tonight will guarantee top spot in Group F – and a spot in next summer’s finals in Russia.

But Southgate is taking nothing for granted, despite boasting an unbeaten qualiying record so far, with six wins and two draws.

The Slovenians did hold England to a goalless draw in Southgate’s first game as interim boss, and the England chief believes the make-orbreak nature of the qualification process raises the stakes.

“They have to win given their position in the group,” he said, with England five points ahead of secondtop Slovakia, and six clear of Slovenia and Scotland – with two matches to play.

“Slovakia are playing Malta, so you’d expect them to win that, so Slovenia have to win, which makes them a dangerous opponent. “It’s a great challenge for us. “They don’t concede a lot, so can we change that?

“We’re a game from Russia, something we want the whole country to be excited about. So we want to show we mean business.”

England must do without midfielder Dele Alli, who serves a onematch ban for raising his middle finger during last month’s victory over Slovakia.

“It’s quite a unique circumstance. It’s probably a fair outcome,” Southgate said of the Spurs star’s international ban.

“He recognises his responsibilities and how things will be viewed, and how his world is changing in terms of the attention and spotlight on him.

“He won’t do it again, that’s for sure. It’s an experience he’ll have learned from.”