ENGLAND take on Hungary TODAY in their Nations League opener as the Three Lions step up preparations for the Qatar World Cup.And three points will be vital as the Three Lions have Germany and Italy to navigate around shortly after.
Start time: 5pm GMT
TV/Live stream: Channel 4
Hungary XI: Gulacsi; Lang, Orban, Szalai; Nego, Schafer, A.Nagy, Z.Nagy; Sallai, Szoboszlai
England XI: Pickford; Walker, Coady, Maguire; Alexander-Arnold, Bellingham, Rice, Justin; Bowen, Mount; Kane
Follow ALL the action with our live blog below…
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Hungary 0-0 England
5. The vuvuzela is making a big comeback in Hungary it seems.
Times like these makes you wish it was a ‘closed doors’ game.
England are probing, trying to find weakness in their opponents.
Hungary 0-0 England
3. England are switching the ball from one flank to the other.
Looking to stretch their opponents.
Justin is caught offside, making a run for Coady to look for.
Hungary 0-0 England
1. It is a warm, humid night in Budapest.
That will prove energy sapping through the game.
England are looking comfortable in possession, knocking the ball around.
Kick-off: Hungary vs England
We are underway at the Puskas Arena.
Hungary get us started in this 28 degree heat.
The fans are making themselves heard.
Fans enjoying chance to see stars
Despite the thoughts of some quarters about the attendance here today, it is good to see the young fans enjoying the occasion.
With England visiting, they are able to see some of their footballing heroes in the flesh tonight.
Nobody wants to see the ground empty so credit to the Hungarian FA for offering the tickets to the children and guardians.
Take a chance on me
There are many players in Southgate’s starting line-up today that will be looking to make a good impression on the manager.
James Justin gets a chance to show if he can replicate some of his Leicester City form on the international stage.
Conor Coady and Mason Mount also have the chance to make themselves starting regulars in this England side.
Alexander-Arnold will be looking to show fans and manager alike what his game is all about in Budapest this evening.
Picking ‘form players’ key to success
Jarrod Bowen has had an impressive season that has seen him score 12 Premier League goals which has earned him his starting place, and first England cap, in a three-pronged attack with Kane and Mount.
Kane is keen to continue his fine form in an England shirt and chip away at the four goals needed to break Wayne Rooney’s record.
Jude Bellingham will be looking to take his chance and try put himself in contention for the flight to Qatar.
Ex-Chelsea striker setting Italy alight
Tammy Abraham scored 17 goals in Serie A this season.
This is the most scored by an Englishman in a single Italian top-flight campaign.
He will be keen to get some game time and Kane can expect his minutes to be managed by Southgate as a result.
Southgate to look at his options
The England manager has many questions he needs to answer before he picks his squad for the World Cup.
One such player keen to make an impression is Trent Alexander-Arnold with Liverpool’s young full-back having been heavily criticised for some costly mistakes.
The 23-year-old was most recently blamed for Vinicius Junior’s winner for Madrid in the Champions League final and will be keen to get some game time to change opinion.
England subs:
12. Trippier, 13. Pope, 14. Stones, 15. James, 16. Grealish, 17. Ward-Prowse, 18. Gallagher, 19. Phillips, 20. Sterling, 21. Saka, 22. Ramsdale, 23. Abraham
England starting XI:
1. Pickford, 2. Walker, 5. Coady, 6. Maguire, 7. Alexander-Arnold, 8. Bellingham, 4. Rice, 3. Justin, 10. Bowen, 9. Kane, 11. Mount
Hungary subs:
3. Kecskés, 5. Fiola, 11. Sallói, 12. Dibusz, 14. Bolla, 15. Kleinheisler, 16. Vancsa, 17. Styles, 19.Ádám, 21. Spandler, 22. Szappanos, 23. Vécsei
Hungary starting XI:
1. Gulácsi, 2. Lang, 6. Orban, 4. Szalai, 7. Nego, 13. Schäfer, 8. Nagy, 18. Nagy, 20. Sallai, 10. Szoboszlai, 9. Szalai
Change of focus much needed
Hungary will be looking to perform well on the pitch today with a performance against this highly-rated England side.
It would take focus from their recent off-field controversy.
The home fans have a huge part to play in all aspects of the game at the Puskas Arena today.
Rossi’s side not firing on all cylinders
Hungary have had real issues creating chances at home of late.
They have failed to score in five of their last eight games.
Their only wins in that time have come against Andorra and San Marino.
Bulletproof England show the way
England have won 15 of their last 20 international matches in 90 minutes across all competitions.
13 of those games have seen England keep clean-sheets.
Avoiding defeat today would see The Three Lions extend their unbeaten run to 10 games.
All roads lead to Qatar
On the pitch there isn’t much of a contest between these two teams.
England however will still be smarting from their third-placed finish in the Nations League last time out.
The surge of games in the competition in the lead up to the World Cup will offer many players a chance to catch the manager’s eye before that squad for the plane to Qatar is decided.
Tough challenge in Budapest for Southgate
It is never easy to win on the road in football at any level.
The Puskas Arena can be an intimidating atmosphere when the fans are getting behind their team.
England were expecting a covid-style empty stadium for tonight’s game but will have to deal with what some are saying will be around 35,000 fans.
Records are made to be broken
England’s captain spoke about the pressure of breaking the England goalscoring record:
It seems like a long time ago when I made my debut now, at the time it was just about playing for England, that was one of the best feelings, still is one of the best feelings every time I pull on that shirt. It’s great to be close to 50, obviously I am still a few goals behind Wazza but the most important thing is to go out there and perform for my team and that is what I’ll try and do.Harry KaneEngland captain
I’m coming for Roo
England captain Harry Kane has scored 49 goals for his country.
He is keen to break Wayne Rooney’s record before this winter’s World Cup in Qatar.
Rooney scored 53 goals for his country and the Nations League hectic fixture schedule will give Kane six games to achieve that goal.
Loopholes makes the world go around
Due to children and guardians being able to attend today’s game in line with UEFA’s ruling, the Puskas Arena can expect to see in excess of 30,000 fans for the game.
It will be a very different proposition from the ‘closed doors’ game England were expecting.
Southgate will have to ensure his players stayed focussed on the task at hand.
Welcome to Hungary vs England
England travel to Budapest for their Nations League opening game against a familiar foe with these two sides having met in World Cup qualifying in the last 12 months.
The Three Lions took four points from those two encounters, despite Hungary gaining a creditable 1-1 draw at Wembley, England winning comfortably 4-0 in Budapest.
The game was marred by reports of racism towards England’s players which led initially to the game being planned to be played behind closed doors, although it is now reported that around 30,000 fans will be in attendance.
Phil Foden will miss the games with Hungary and Germany after testing positive for Covid-19, the Man City midfielder has been sent home but boss Southgate says he should be available got the games against Italy and Hungary at Molineux.
Defenders Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi are injured and will miss out, while Raheem Sterling has missed some training sessions but should be fit.
England’s only real injury worry was the withdrawal of Arsenal centre-back Ben White as he struggles to shake off a muscular injury.
James Justin continues his positive comeback from a long injury lay-off and is hoping to push for his first England cap.
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