Southgate: Don’t lie to me

GARETH SOUTHGATE has pleaded with his walking wounded not to lie about their fitness ahead of tomorrow’s World Cup quarter-final against Sweden. Jamie Vardy is England’s biggest doubt for the showdown in Samara. The Leicester striker missed training yesterday with the groin injury he suffered in Tuesday’s win over Colombia. However, captain Harry Kane did train to allay fears of a calf problem and he is expected to lead the team against the Swedes. Likewise, Dele Alli, Ashley Young and Kyle Walker, who all required treatment on Tuesday, took part in the penultimate full session ahead of the Sweden clash, with all three hopeful of being available. Southgate will assess those with problems today before making his team selection. Players could be tempted to play down injuries given the magnitude of the occasion. But the England manager warned: ‘It’s not so much about taking a risk, it’s more about being able to perform. The lads would always be prepared to risk injury for these games. But that can’t be at the detriment of the performance. ‘We’ve got to take performance decisions. For these games, they are not always as honest as they might be about how fit they are.’