World Cup 2018: 5 factors England need to get right to have a successful

#5 Know when to change it up

Gareth Southgate must make full use of likely substitutes like Ruben Loftus-Cheek

The use of substitutes is always a tricky topic to debate in football. At what time is it best for a manager to make a change and send someone fresh on? Is it better to stick with your original side and hope they deliver, or hook someone who might be playing badly without giving them a chance to atone?

It’s an issue that’s plagued past England managers on numerous occasions. Euro 2016 saw the best and worst of both sides – Roy Hodgson decided to go for broke against Wales, sending on Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge and Marcus Rashford from the bench in an effort to break the Welsh resistance, and eventually it worked – Vardy and Sturridge scored to give England a 2-1 win.

Against Iceland however, Hodgson simply left it too late, and only sent Rashford on only when the game seemed beyond England, despite the Manchester United player seemingly being the only man playing without any fear.

Gareth Southgate might not have the deepest squad to rely on this time and critics have already stated that he doesn’t necessarily have players who can change a game from the bench. But in Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Ruben Loftus-Cheek – all of whom may not start – he does have a handful of tyros capable of pulling out something special.

Let’s hope that unlike Hodgson, he knows exactly when it’s time to use them.