England manager Gareth Southgate insisted Tuesday's international friendly against rivals Scotland will not be the time to "overly experiment".
Both sides are on the cusp of qualification for next summer’s European Championship in Germany as they meet at Hampden Park for the 116th edition of the oldest fixture in international football.
Southgate sees England’s first friendly fixture since March 2022 as an important test for his side, fresh from Saturday’s challenging 1-1 draw against Ukraine.
Scotland have won their last five matches and will be roared on by a sold-out home crowd, and Southgate knows he has to get the balance right with his selection.
“We’ve got to find the right balance of physical freshness – we’ve had a day less preparation – experience, finding out about some players, winning, playing well,” he said. “So, the usual things that are expected of us with England, really.
“But I think the first thing is we can’t fiddle around with the team because we’re playing a top-level side, who are going to be at full tilt and giving us a really high-level challenge.
“So, you can’t overly experiment because that would be ridiculous.”
Southgate largely stuck with the tried and tested with his squad selection for this September double-header, leading to starts for Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson against Ukraine.
It was the first competitive start of the season for Maguire, who remains down the pecking order at Manchester United, and the first time Henderson had represented his country since swapping Liverpool for Saudi Pro League side Al Ettifaq.
Southgate received some criticism for selecting the pair against Ukraine, while a disjointed, toothless performance hardly set pulses racing.
“I haven’t seen it, so the reaction for us is, we’re top of the group,” said the England manager, who could hand Levi Colwill and Eddie Nketiah their debuts in Glasgow.
“I think we’re the top scorers in Europe. The boys did a really good job in a difficult environment and we know that our attacking play didn’t quite click.
England player ratings v Ukraine
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Jordan Pickford - 6: Out well to sweep up late in the first half. Couldn't do anything about Zinchenko's close-range opener. Otherwise had very little to do. Reuters -
Kyle Walker - 8: An unlikely goalscorer with his first for England on his 77th cap. Lovely alertness and run followed by a sumptuous first touch which gave him a straightforward finish. Dealt expertly with Mudryk after the break. Getty -
Harry Maguire - 5: A mixed bag. Some examples of competent defending but then looked all at sea for the goal, gambling on the cross going to the near post and charging clumsily into defensive partner Guehi. Offered a threat at set-pieces. PA -
Marc Guehi - 7: Solid performance from the Crystal Palace man. Did his defensive work with minimal fuss and was safe and steady with his distribution. Getty -
Ben Chilwell - 5: Frustrating display from the Chelsea left-back, especially in the first half. Touch was poor, passing sloppy and got nowhere near Konoplya as he created Ukraine's opening goal. Reuters -
Jordan Henderson - 5: Huffed and puffed in the first half and was partly to blame for Ukraine's goal as he failed to react quickly enough and track Zinchenko's run. Better in the second half but a mediocre display overall. Reuters -
Declan Rice - 5: Far from his best game in an England shirt. Struggled to offer any stability or control with the Ukrainians working their socks off and making life hard for the Three Lions' midfield. Reuters -
Jude Bellingham - 6: Started really positively but deteriorated from there. Some flashes of brilliance early in the game and created a decent chance for Maddison. Influence waned and passing became increasingly erratic leading to his withdrawal. Reuters -
James Maddison - 5: Missed a decent opportunity in the first half when his touch let him down. Some bright moments, but too often wasteful and gave up the ball cheaply. Booked for petulant challenge. Reuters -
Harry Kane - 7: Didn't get too many looks at goal but was able to influence the game from deep, never more so than in providing a beautiful assist for Walker's goal. Reuters -
Bukayo Saka - 6: At times lively and a goal threat, at others wasteful and frustrating. Hit the bar with a curling effort, but too often ran down blind alleys or made poor choices. Reuters -
SUBS: Marcus Rashford (Bellingham 65) - 5: Tried his best to make a breakthrough. Threatened with a free-kick but then got the ball caught under his feet in a good position. Getty -
Phil Foden (Maddison, 66) - 5: Struggled to get into game during a disjointed final 30 minutes for England, must be frustrated to have only figured from the bench. Reuters -
Conor Gallagher (Saka, 86) - N/A: Came on as England settled for a point late on. Reuters
“I think some of that was the surface, really, because to make those really incisive, quick passes at times you just needed a little extra touch or there was a little bobble.
“I’m very conscious I wasn’t going to be too harsh on my internal review with the players. Because you could see moments when we’re watching it back where the ball pops over players’ feet or (someone) goes to play a ball first time, and it lofts in the air.
“Equally, that wasn’t the case with everything that we did, so we’re always challenging. We want to be better and better and we’ve got to set a high standard.
“We weren’t as happy coming away with the point as we might have been but it’s still a really good result."
Clarke keen to assess Scotland progress
Scotland manager Steve Clarke, meanwhile, wants to use the match as a chance to see how close his side have got to England.
Scotland go into the game on a high having won 11 qualifying matches in a row. Friday’s 3-0 victory in Cyprus made it five wins from five in the Euro 2024 qualifiers and kept open the possibility of Scotland qualifying on Tuesday.
But Clarke will put aside thoughts of Germany next summer as Scotland host a side who will provide a stern test of their recent progress.
“Certainly in my lifetime England have probably moved a little bit further in front. We are trying to close the gap on them and we will find out how much we have closed the gap," he said.
“For us, it’s just about trying to continue to improve. I speak about it all the time, game to game. Obviously, we played well in Cyprus. It was a comfortable evening and now we see what we can do against a team that’s nominally a pot-one team, always in the later stages of major tournaments.
“That’s the benchmark we want to judge ourselves against and we will find out how close we are.
