Arsenal legend Ray Parlour selects his England XI for World Cup opener against Tunisia
The Three Lions begin their tournament on Monday - is this the team Gareth Southgate will choose?
Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has named the starting XI he would pick for England’s World Cup opener against Tunisia.
The World Cup is finally upon us, with hosts Russia opening the tournament on Thursday afternoon against Saudi Arabia – with LIVE commentary on talkSPORT.
England still have a little wait before their campaign kicks-off, with their Group G clash against Tunisia not until on Monday.
Gareth Southgate had largely established his first-choice team, but there are still question marks over a number of positions – notably in central midfield with Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and Tottenham’s Eric Dier competing for a spot.
Marcus Rashford’s recent injury troubles – he has missed two days of training with a knee injury this week – have also opened up the possibility of the Manchester United star sitting out of England’s opener.
We asked former England international Parlour who he would pick for the first game – do you agree with this England XI?
The Gunners hero explained his choices on Thursday’s Jim White show – hear what he had to say below…
Former England manager Sam Allardyce joined talkSPORT earlier this week to share the XI he would field for the clash.
Apart from Rashford, Southgate has no other injury doubts ahead of Monday's game at the Volgograd Arena.
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The Man United youngster was the only squad member absent from training on Thursday morning, when England players and staff observed a minute's silence to mark the anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Southgate's team showed their respect for those who lost their lives in last summer's tragedy in London before training, where a number of staff wore Grenfell green heart badges.