Gareth Southgate will bring back his big guns for England's Nations League clash against Belgium

Gareth Southgate will bring back his big guns for England’s Nations League clash against Belgium with captain Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford set to be recalled to face world’s No 1 ranked side

  • England boss Gareth Southgate will call upon his key stars for Belgium clash 
  • He fielded an inexperienced side the for 3-0 win against Wales on Thursday 
  • But Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson will return on Sunday
  • Southgate wants to see how Three Lions fare against a top class side in Belgium
  • Roberto Martinez’s team are currently ranked as the No 1 team in the world  

Gareth Southgate will recall his big guns for Sunday’s Nations League clash against Belgium despite his fringe heroes impressing against Wales.

Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson, Harry Maguire, Declan Rice, Jordan Pickford and Marcus Rashford are all in line to return to face the Belgians.

England’s experimental side impressed against the Welsh on Thursday night with a 3-0 win.

England boss Gareth Southgate will play key stars like Harry Kane against Belgium

England boss Gareth Southgate will play key stars like Harry Kane against Belgium 

Jordan Henderson (C) and Marcus Rashford (R) will also feature for the Nations League clash

Jordan Henderson (C) and Marcus Rashford (R) will also feature for the Nations League clash

The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Danny Ings, Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka shone on their full international debuts. But it will be a different story against the world’s No 1 ranked team, Belgium. 

‘The games with Belgium and Denmark are a better indication of how we are operating against nations closer to the top of the rankings,’ said Southgate.  

‘Belgium, we know the outstanding individuals they have, but also the length of time their squad has been playing in a very settled fashion and it is one of the biggest challenges we could have outside of the likes of France and Spain.’

Southgate fielded an inexperienced team for the 3-0 win against Wales on Thursday night

Southgate fielded an inexperienced team for the 3-0 win against Wales on Thursday night 

Conor Coady, winning only his second cap, was excellent against Wales and Southgate has been impressed. Sportsmail understands the Wolves defender has a real chance to start in the heart of a back-three at next summer’s European Championship.

The England manager’s return to a back three suits Coady as Wolves play that way. But with Maguire and Eric Dier pushing for recalls against Belgium, the central defender could find himself back on the bench. Southgate is offering no guarantees to those who have made a breakthrough into his squad that they will be included in his Euro 2020 squad.

He selected a 30-man squad for these fixtures, but will have to slash that by seven for next summer’s tournament. He said: ‘I will never say never (to more debuts) because young players these days emerge so quickly and can advance so quickly.

He is looking to see how his top players perform against the side ranked No 1 in the world

He is looking to see how his top players perform against the side ranked No 1 in the world 

‘We have a good idea of what the majority of the squad will look like but there are definitely places up for grabs. Somebody like Dominic Calvert-Lewin is showing a real strong case to force his way in.’

Ben Chilwell will not be available for the Belgium game due to a minor illness. The Chelsea defender, who missed the win over Wales after breaching Covid regulations by attending Tammy Abraham’s surprise 23rd birthday party, did not take part in the latest round of UEFA tests on Friday so he is unavailable. 

Abraham and Jadon Sancho — who were also at the party — are expected to be available.

source: dailymail.co.uk