England face Italy this week in the UEFA Nations League, with the Three Lions hopeful of redeeming themselves after their nightmare results the last time Gareth Southgate’s side competed in this competition.
A historic 4-0 loss to Hungary has been the lowest point of the 52-year-old’s tenure as manager of England, yet wins against the likes of Italy and Germany could be exactly what Southgate needs to build up excitement ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
With this the final international break before the competition, England fans will be hopeful of strong performances against their European rivals as well as to gain a clearer picture of what to expect from the Three Lions when they head out to Qatar in November.
England will be one of the favourites to win the tournament, and here at HITC Sport, we name our predicted XI for Southgate’s trip to Italy this week in the Nations League, with a big result needed from the former Premier League defender.
Ramsdale replaces Pickford as Maguire is dropped for Dier
With Jordan Pickford out through injury, Aaron Ramsdale looks set to replace the Everton superstar in Southgate’s England XI, with the Arsenal keeper enjoying a strong start to the season with the Gunners, who currently sit top of the Premier League with one of the best defensive records in the division.
Starting ahead of the 24-year-old keeper is AC Milan titan Fikayo Tomori and Tottenham defender Eric Dier, who replace Manchester United’s £85m captain Harry Maguire as Erik Ten Hag made the decision to drop the England centre-back from his best Premier League XI, a move that has resulted in an incredible turnaround in form for the Red Devils.
With Southgate picking no-less than eight players capable of playing at right-back, Reece James is picked for our XI given Kyle Walker’s lack of fitness and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shaky start to the season with Liverpool, with Kieran Tripper much better suited to a wing-back role as Ben Chilwell takes the left-back position.
Rice and Bellingham start together following injury to Phillips
Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice were the unlikely midfield duo that fired England to the Euro 2020 final last year, yet with the Manchester City star missing the international break this month due to injury, now is as good a time as any to get Jude Bellingham in the starting XI for the foreseeable future.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder is one of the best young talents in world football and has only gone from strength-to-strength this season as one of the German giants’ vice captains aged just 19, and alongside Rice, Bellingham has the potential to add a lot to England’s squad that was missing during the Euros.
Whilst Rice has had a mixed start to the season as West Ham’s new permanent captain, the England star has proven to be a key player in Southgate’s system, and alongside Bellingham, the 23-year-old is more than capable of retaining his spot to face Italy in the Nations League this Friday.
Foden takes no. 10 role with Sterling and Saka out on the wings
England’s sole new call-up comes in the form of Brentford striker Ivan Toney, and whilst the attacker will feature for Southgate at some point this month, captain Harry Kane is expected to lead the line for the Three Lions this week against Italy at the San Siro.
The Tottenham star has been in solid form this season, and with Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling supporting the England striker from behind with Bukayo Saka also out on the right, Kane has an incredible amount of creative and attacking quality assisting him should Southgate go with our forward quartet.
Indeed, Kane could well become England’s record-goalscorer if he hits form against Italy and Germany in the Nations League this week, and for the striker, this could be his best personal achievement to date along with his other accolades throughout his Three Lions and Tottenham career.
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