England are toying with the idea of playing with only one anchor-man at the world cup. Coach Gareth Southgate desires to play with two attacking options in central field.
This means that either Jordan Henderson or Eric Dier will be on the bench in the first game against Tunisia next week. And the coach has admitted that the two could be fighting over one place in the side.
“I’d be amazed if the two of them aren’t important figures for us during the tournament, but there is clearly the possibility they might not both play in every match,” said Southgate.
“It is a key decision, but that’s management isn’t it? You either select players, or you choose your system and pick the best people to fit into it. They’re the tough calls.”
Dier played the anchoring role at Wembley alongside Alli and Lingard in the win against Nigeria and Henderson will take over for Thursday’s farewell friendly against Costa Rica at Elland Road, but decision time is looming for the Group G opener against Tunisia.
Both men have captained the side during his reign and, of Southgate’s 16 games in charge, Dier has started 12 and Henderson has started nine.