‘It’s a different England team, not a weaker one’ – Gary Neville backs Gareth Southgate’s squad rotation for Belgium clash
Former Three Lions defender and coach says the second string are more than capable of winning the Group G decider
Gary Neville has backed England manager Gareth Southgate to ring the changes for Thursday night’s World Cup clash against Belgium – insisting it would still be a strong enough team to win.
England and Belgium go into the Group G decider with a bizarre dilemma.
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Victory will mean going though as group winners, but whoever finishes runner-up will actually face an easier route to the final.
Southgate has said ahead of the game that he faces a dilemma of his own – to keep his starting XI’s momentum going or to keep his whole squad happy.
It has been claimed the boss could make as many as SIX changes for the clash - with reports suggesting Gary Cahill, Phil Jones, Eric Dier, Danny Rose, Fabian Delph and Jamie Vardy are set to start.
But Neville has argued England’s second string are more than capable of winning.
Speaking on Thursday's Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, the former Three Lions defender and coach said: “If you pick Danny Rose over Ashley Young, is there really a drop in quality?
"A lot of people would have picked Rose to start with.
“The same with Vardy or Sterling - you look at it and think, actually Vardy will have more chance of a goal, he’s a threat and plays off the shoulder.
“So when you’re looking at these changes you’re not talking about players who are level below, you’re talking about lads of equal ability.”
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