England faces Brazil and Germany in their International Friendlies, presenting them with a chance to go up against the elite countries to see if they are prepared for the World Cup. So it will be interesting to see how they will come up against the likes of 'World Giants'.
When is it and where to watch it?
The first intriguing match will be against Germany on Friday, November 10 at Wembley Stadium. Followed by the enticing match against Brazil again at Wembley Stadium on November 14 which is a Tuesday. These matches will broadcast live on ITV.
Make sure you watch these matches as it's a good way to see how England comes up against bigger and better opponents and whether they will be able to challenge and surprise the fans.
If they lose both matches it's not the end of the world as it is a friendly, but due to recent poor performances, the team needs to improve to give fellow England supporters hope for the World Cup. Previous to this their friendlies record has been poor losing 1-0 to Germany, 3-2 against France and luckily held down to a draw against Spain in 2015/16. Along with this the way they got knocked out of the Euro's, is still difficult to forget. Despite this, they do have a positive record in the World Cup qualifiers as they are currently unbeaten and have secured their place.
Is Gareth Southgate the right man for the job?
I don't think so! As his lack of experience in big tournaments and his recent squad decisions and the poor string of performances lately by England has got many fans feeling pretty negative about their chances.
In his recent press conference, he discussed how players who aren't or can't get into the first team/playing enough football, will not be included in the squad. I somewhat agree with what he says, but it would be a perfect opportunity to test out the shape and your best 11 to get ready in advance.
Team news
Absent players include; Jack Wilshire, Chamberlain, Walcott and Rooney.
This does leave Southgate with a flat squad with mainly younger players, which we will just wait to see if it was an effective decision or not. The additional players replacing the likes of Smalling, Chamberlain, etc, are; Ashley Young, Joe Gomez, Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham. Unfortunately for England due to injured players such as; Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson, Fabian Delph and Dele Alli all pulling out so they can recover, so the England squad will be depending on youth mainly.
The chosen players in Gareth Southgate's squad are players on form at the moment for their clubs and they deserve to be on the team sheet. Most of the members of his squad he managed from his youth management days, so it's a benefit to the squad and for the players to show their worth and demand a place in the England lineup for next years World Cup!
