Gareth Southgate has hinted that he will look to experiment during England’s friendly fixture with Australia on Friday evening.
Southgate’s side take on the Socceroos at Wembley this evening, as preparation for Tuesday’s Euro 2024 qualifier with Italy.
England are closing in on a place at next summer’s European Championship and will confirm qualification to the tournament with a win against Italy next week.
Speaking ahead of the clash with Australia, Southgate said England are taking the friendly ‘seriously’ but said now is the time to make sure ‘that people get chances to play’.
“England vs Australia is one of the great sporting rivalries. If Australia have any sniff that we’re not taking the game seriously, then we’ll be in trouble,” Southgate said at his pre-match press conference.
“Our mindset has got to be spot on. Equally, we’ve still got a bit of work to do to qualify for the European Championships, but we’re potentially six games away from that and we have good players, and we need to give others opportunities to show what they can do.
“That’s part of our bond as a team – making sure that people get chances to play and feel part of the group. We’ve got to get the right balance.”
