Manager desperate to see how his third-ranked team match-up against fourth-ranked Belgium on Tuesday
\n LONDON
\nEngland manager Gareth Southgate shrugged off injuries in his squad ahead of a testing friendly against Belgium and said he\u2019s looking forward to seeing his rookies \u201cexcel\u201d ahead of the European championships.
\nDespite a 1-0 loss to Brazil on Saturday to a goal from 17-year-old sensation Endrick, Southgate is desperate to see how his third-ranked team match-up against fourth-ranked Belgium on Tuesday.
\n\u201cSimilar to (Brazil) we\u2019re talking about a high-level game, brilliant experience for the players, a chance to see new players again, build towards the summer,\u201d said Southgate after the five-time world champions ended his side\u2019s 10-match unbeaten run.
\n\u201cWe deliberately took two really high-level games and of course we\u2019ve had to put out a very different team to the one we might have envisaged.
\n\u201cSo, we\u2019ve still learned an awful lot ahead of the summer that\u2019s really important. You know, some of these boys are pushing for starting positions, some are pushing for places in the squad.
\n\u201cYou need to see them against that sort of level of opposition to see if they\u2019re going to be able to excel in the summer.\u201d
\nHarry Maguire, Kyle Walker and Sam Johnstone have all withdrawn from an already depleted England ahead of the game with Belgium at Wembley.
\nWalker and Maguire started Saturday\u2019s match but have now left Southgate\u2019s squad, as has back-up goalkeeper Johnstone.
\n\u201cMaguire, Walker and Johnstone have returned to their respective clubs for assessment having sustained injuries in recent days,\u201d the FA said in a statement.
\nManchester City\u2019s Rico Lewis, who made his debut against North Macedonia in November, and uncapped Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford have been moved into the senior squad from the England Under-21 set-up.
\nEngland captain Harry Kane missed Saturday\u2019s game with an ankle injury and had already been ruled out of facing Belgium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Manager desperate to see how his third-ranked team match-up against fourth-ranked Belgium on Tuesday LONDON England manager Gareth Southgate shrugged off injuries in his squad ahead of a testing friendly against Belgium and said he\u2019s looking forward to seeing his rookies \u201cexcel\u201d ahead of the European championships. Despite a 1-0 loss to Brazil on Saturday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-396361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n