England's head coach, Gareth Southgate, may be reluctant to change a winning team when they take on Panama in Sunday lunchtime's World Cup clash, but the recent leaked team-sheet saga would suggest that Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling are in a straight battle for a starting berth in Moscow.
There had been a great deal of talk, social media chatter and general back-and-forth on the rights and wrongs of the media 'leaking' a supposed team-sheet that was pictured in the hands of Southgate's assistant, Steve Holland. Southgate has moved quickly to dampen the fallout after initially questioning whether the English media wanted to help England, and he now has the more pressing task of a selection dilemma on his hands.
The England boss will almost certainly make one change from the team that beat Tunisia 2-1 as Ruben Loftus-Cheek will replace Dele Alli, despite the Tottenham midfielder returning to full training. The more difficult decision will be whether to choose Raheem Sterling or Marcus Rashford in the No. 10 position.
On the basis of last season's performances at club level, it would appear to be a 'no-brainer'. Raheem Sterling scored 18 goals and laid on 15 assists during the course of 33 Premier League appearances for the champions Manchester City, whereas Rashford managed a comparatively paltry seven goals and five assists in 35 league outings (only 17 of which were starts) for runners up Manchester United.
At 23, Sterling is moving towards his prime for City, although he has rarely looked like a natural No. 10 for England and he cannot call upon the world class service of Kevin de Bruyne and co. when he pulls on an England shirt. Jordan Henderson has his merits but the lack of creative quality in the centre of the park is clearly an area where the national side struggles.
Sterling's performances at international level have been a cause for consternation and the 'Twitterati' were calling for him to be dropped in the wake of a disappointing effort in Monday's 2-1 win over Tunisia. He missed a raft of glorious chances in front of goal and he has now collected 26 international caps since he last scored for England - a 2-0 win against Estonia in September 2015.
Rashford looked sharper and offered more of a threat when he came off the bench against Tunisia, albeit he was able to take advantage of tiring opposition. The 20-year-old offers a more direct option and he has scored three goals in 20 appearances for England, with the United forward starting just eight of those.
It is telling that all three of Rashford's goals for the Three Lions have come when he started the game though and he will be desperate to make an impression following a tough season trying to earn the affections of Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.
It would be tough on Sterling to be dropped as he should be England's talisman and he still could be. The chance to 'fill his boots' against Panama could be a great opportunity to boost his confidence ahead of tougher tests ahead, whilst leaving him out could have the opposite effect on the self-belief of a player who has often struggled to be accepted by the public.
Sterling's time may still come but it appears as if Rashford is set to be given the nod by Southgate and he surely won't let anyone down, particularly against a Panama side that are arguably the worst team at this World Cup.
Prediction: England 3-0 Panama.
Bang on Gareth.
(🗞 @danroan)
#ThreeLions
#WorldCup
