Sancho to start against Kosovo

Jadon Sancho will start for England against Kosovo at St Mary’s on Tuesday, Sky Sports News understands, with Marcus Rashford dropping to the bench.

Gareth Southgate revealed in his pre-match news conference that he would be freshening up in his side in the wake of Saturday’s 4-0 defeat of Bulgaria.

Southgate: Not even Kane ‘undroppable’
Kosovo boss: England best in the world

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England manager Gareth Southgate confirms Harry Kane will start against Kosovo on Tuesday, but says no player is ‘undroppable’

England manager Gareth Southgate confirms Harry Kane will start against Kosovo on Tuesday, but says no player is ‘undroppable’

Sancho – who came off the bench for the last 20 minutes at Wembley – is poised to start after making a fine start to the season for Borussia Dortmund.

The 19-year-old has scored twice and contributed three assists in the first three Bundesliga matches of the new campaign, and he is now set to earn a seventh England cap and make a third international start.

Ben Chilwell is set to return to the England starting line-up on Tuesday night

Sky Sports News understands Southgate is also expected to change both full-backs – with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Leicester’s Ben Chilwell set to come in for Kieran Trippier and Danny Rose.

Southgate said on Monday: “We might freshen the team a bit, that will be important.

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Southgate says he feared Declan Rice would get abuse for switching his international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland to England but believes he has dealt with it ‘incredibly maturely’

Southgate says he feared Declan Rice would get abuse for switching his international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland to England but believes he has dealt with it ‘incredibly maturely’

“We don’t need to, everyone is fit and available. We need to make sure we get the balance right.

“We need to get the right attacking and defending profiles to make sure we win the game.”

Southgate may be ready to rotate his side but he is not expecting an easy game against a Kosovo team who have impressed in qualifying so far.

Having only been accepted as a member of both UEFA and FIFA in 2016, Kosovo are now in the mix for Euro 2020 qualification – they lie second behind England in Group A after Saturday’s win over the Czech Republic.

Kosovo have made a good start to their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign

Asked if this would be England’s toughest game to date, Southgate replied: “Yes, absolutely.

“I wasn’t surprised by the result on Saturday against the Czech Republic.

“Before the game, my coaches were sitting down to watch, and I said, ‘I’m expecting you to come and tell me Kosovo win’, because I’ve watched all of the matches, every game, and the level of performance has been consistent.

“The tactical side of the game has been good. The coach has the team really well organised.

“And, of course, the passion of a relatively new country is clear. The spirit and the passion for the shirt and for the flag.

“So, I think the team have brought all of those things to their performances and I’m expecting them to be the toughest challenge.

“They have the longest unbeaten record in Europe. So, that in itself is a stat that should make people take notice.”

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