NO NEED FOR SAFETY FIRST ...GO WITH A BACK FOUR

WorD is Gareth Southgate wants to go with a back three for Iran. I fear millions of eyes will roll if the england line-up drops and we’ve got three central defenders! The system can scream safety first and I think we can afford to be more expansive against Iran. Look, whichever system Southgate selects should be enough to win this game. Hopefully easier than the stoppagetime winner we needed from Harry Kane in the 2018 World Cup opener against Tunisia. But I much prefer the idea of a back four. In my line-up, I’ve got right-footed Kieran Trippier at right back and left-footed Luke Shaw at left back. They get high and wide and give you the width you want. There’s a left-footer on the right in Phil Foden and a right-footer on the left in raheem Sterling, both cutting inside to be closer to Kane. At No 10, James Maddison is there to do what he’s been doing for Leicester. He deserves his shot on the biggest stage. Southgate will have done his homework. After seeing how successful the back three was in russia, he may fancy that again. But that’s not what I would go with for Iran, Gareth!