Southgate to make changes for England’s WC qualifier at Wembley
England manager Gareth Southgate intends to make changes for tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Hungary at Wembley.
Group I leaders England needamaximumoffivepoints from their remaining three games to secure their place at Qatar 2022.
Southgatemadegooduseof hissquadasanumberoffringe players featured in Saturday’s 5-0 thrashing of minnows Andorrabutanumberofhisfirstchoice side could now return.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Southgate said: “We will definitely make changes.
"We have got a very strong squadandpartofthereasonwe made the changes we did the other night is there were some specific profile of players we thought could help us win the game. Also, we want the squad to feel involved and it is importanttheyknowtheyarevalued, that they can contribute.
“Itwasn’tafriendlytheother night, there were qualification points resting on it and those games have gone wrong in the past.
“I was really pleased with the quality of the performance as well as the application. We are hitting a really consistent level of performance, which is great to see.”
Southgate was asked if the outstanding performance of Phil Foden in midfield against Andorrahadgivenhimaselection headache.
“I have a headache and I commit a crime every time I
pick a team,” he said. “It is very difficult every time.
“We have so many good players and such good, strong competition for places. There were lots of players that did theirownconfidenceandtheir own reputations a lot of good and that is pleasing to see.”
*Derby’s administrators have appealed against the 12-point penalty imposed on the club last month for entering
administration.
The English Football League announced that the appeal had been lodged and said the matter would now be referred to an independent arbitration panel.
The points deduction, which was imposed following the club confirming the appointment of administrators on September 22, will remain applied to the Championship
tablewhilethearbitrationprocess is ongoing, the EFL said.
Wigan, who entered administration in the summer of 2020, were unsuccessful when they appealed against their own 12-point deduction.
The league’s regulations state an appeal against the penalty can only be launched on the grounds of ‘force majeure’ – where a club enters administration due to “unforeseeable and unavoidable” circumstances.
Aclubstatementwasissued on September 17 saying the intention was to enter administration. It said the coronavirus pandemic had “a severe impact” on revenues and that the clubhadbecomeunabletoserviceitsday-to-dayfinancialobligations.
Derby’s administrators rated the club’s chances of avoiding liquidation at 95 per cent last month, and said at the time they were already aware ofsixpartiesinterestedinbuying the club. On the pitch, the Rams are on two points with the12-pointdeductionapplied, seven off safety. However, they face the prospect of a further, separatepointsdeductionover breaches of EFL financial regulations under their former owner Mel Morris.