CAPTAIN No 6 FOR SOUTHGATE?
Southgate to back Stoke keeper with Hart benched again
JACK BUTLAND is set to start successive England internationals for the first time when he faces Germany tomorrow night.
Butland started England’s final World Cup qualifier in lithuania last month and manager Gareth Southgate is set to continue with the 24- year- old as the world champions visit Wembley.
Southgate has gone on record to say that Hart remains England’s first-choice goalkeeper. However, Butland will see tomorrow night as a massive opportunity to apply pressure on the West Ham shotstopper ahead of next summer’s World Cup in Russia.
Hart’s position has been under scrutiny in recent months but Southgate has so far been loyal to the goalkeeper.
And 30- year- old Hart could return to the starting XI against Brazil on tuesday night — but the England manager may have a bigger decision to make next summer if Butland continues to impress.
Butland, widely viewed as Joe Hart’s long-term successor as England no 1, is in line to earn his seventh cap.
He has faced Germany before and suffered a stress fracture of his right ankle during England’s 3-2 win in Berlin in March last year, which saw him spend 13 months on the sidelines.
After all the withdrawals, Southgate still has injury concerns over centre backs Gary Cahill and Michael Keane.
Southgate will make a late decision on Cahill’s availability as he mulls over his starting XI.
With full- time captaincy candidates Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson, who have shared the duties for the previous six England games, both absent through injury, Southgate is keen to call on Cahill’s experience against Joachim low’s side by making him skipper.
If Cahill misses out — and with Hart set to start on the bench — Southgate will be forced to select the sixth captain in only his 13th game as England manager, with Eric dier the leading contender.
dier, who has just 21 caps, would follow in the footsteps of Kane, Henderson, Hart, Cahill and Wayne Rooney since Southgate took over in September last year.
If 23-year- old dier is captain it will reflect on how the tottenham star has established himself.
Indeed, England’s Spurs connection looks likely to play a prominent role in Southgate’s plans next summer with Kane, dier, dele Alli, danny Rose, Kieran trippier and Harry Winks all vying for a place on the plane to Russia.
Midfielder dier, though, has played down tottenham’s presence in the England squad, saying: ‘We have spoken about this with my club and I think football has become more and more a game with the way teams play and the way we want to play.
‘It is not about 11 players but 21 or 22 players. no individuals or three or four people are bigger than the collective.
‘that will never be the case in team sport. We all want to play for England and keep doing well for our clubs and hopefully take that into international football. We will keep working hard to do that.’
dier’s versatility is likely to come in handy for England as they prepare for the games against Germany and Brazil.
Given the concerns over Cahill and Keane, dier could fill in as one of England’s three centre backs alongside Phil Jones and John Stones — though Harry Maguire and Joe Gomez are also options.
In midfield, Ruben loftus-Cheek, the 21-year-old who has impressed on loan at Crystal Palace from Chelsea, will be hoping to make his England debut after his first senior call-up.
Jamie Vardy, Jesse lingard and Marcus Rashford are vying for places in England’s attack.
Southgate has been forced to field a makeshift side against the Germans following a spate of drop-outs from his squad. the England manager is disappointed by the number of withdrawals, but will learn much about the players at his disposal as his side face two of the world’s finest teams.