Neville wants England to make changes against Belgium to avoid fatigue

Reuters, Wednesday 27 Jun 2018

England
Soccer Football - World Cup - England Training- England Training Camp, Saint Petersburg, Russia - June 27, 2018. Players train. (REUTERS)

Former right-back Gary Neville has advised England manager Gareth Southgate to make "three or four changes" in Thursday's top-spot decider against Belgium to avoid fatigue in the latter stages of the World Cup.

England and Belgium are both locked on six points each after winning their fixtures against Tunisia and Panama and having already qualified for the round of 16, the former Manchester United defender feels it is important to keep the squad fresh.

"I've seen England teams blow up at the quarter-final stage where they have run out of legs, where they have not been able to see the job through," Neville, who won 85 international caps, told Sky Sports.

"I felt strongly that if we made more use of the squad we would have felt the effect of that later in the tournament."

The 43-year-old also noted the importance of trusting the squad to perform against Belgium so that the players are ready if called upon during the knockout rounds.

"From an England view, it's important to give the squad faith and trust," Neville added.

"It's conceivable that we will need (Eric) Dier at some point in the tournament, so why not give him a run out. It's conceivable we would need to play another center-forward and it's important that they play well."

(For more sports news and updates and a special World Cup 2018 coverage, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports)

 
Short link: