(Football news) England are set to face Ivory Coast in a friendly and the fixture will help Gareth Southgate tinker with his squad and tactics ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In their last fixture, the Three Lions came from behind to defeat Switzerland 2-1 at the Wembley Stadium on Saturday with Marc Guehi, Kyle Walker-Peters and Tyrick Mitchell receiving their debuts. 

In the press conference ahead of the match against Ivory Coast, Southgate said “We'll make changes. We think that's the right thing to do. We want to keep all of the squad involved. I think that has been a strength for us. Players who come in perform well at the level and the team march on." Along with the obvious change in personnel, Southgate could also experiment with a different system with a back four instead of a back three, a system he employed against Switzerland when his team were winning.

Harry Maguire is expected to start in the match with Tyrone Mings also a possible contender. John Stones is unavailable due to an injury and has returned to the Manchester City camp while Declan Rice could start in midfield after an impressive performance as a substitute against Switzerland. Southgate has been so impressed by Rice that he has claimed the 23 year old could be a potential captain one day. "He is right among that despite his age," Southgate said of Rice. "What I've seen this season is the confidence that he's gained from his experience last summer.

"He had a huge impact on the game when he came on," he added. "A really mature performance, strong, breaks the game up so well, but now has more confidence to drive with the ball and bring it forward as well. Without a doubt, he has all the attributes to be a captain. There will be others, but we are gaining the rewards of the opportunities we had to blood him so young."

Meanwhile, Harry Kane’s penalty against Switzerland means that the 28 year old is now on 49 international goals, going past Gary Linekar and now joint-second with Sir Bobby Charlton in the England’s all time top scorer chart. To say that Kane has been prolific in front of goal would be an understatement, the Spurs striker has scored 49 goals in 68 appearances for his country and can easily surpass Wayne Rooney’s record with just four more goals. 

Tammy Abraham could have been a potential candidate to start the match but the AS Roma striker is currently injured. Southgate’s attacking options are only Kane and Ollie Watkins, who would be keen to make his mark after coming on as an 88th minute substitute against Switzerland. Southgate said about Watkins “There is never a camp where he looks like he doesn't want to play. That mentality spreads through the rest of the group." 

Emile Smith Rowe could also feature against Ivory Coast after recuperating from a minor injury that kept him sidelined against Switzerland. Since receiving his first call-up in November, Smith Rowe scored his first international goal in England’s 10-0 win over San Marino. However, competition is tough in the middle of the park with Southgate having Mason Mount, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling at his disposal. Unfortunately, Saka will be unavailable for the match after getting COVID-19.

Also read: Poland to take on Sweden for a place in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar