Dele Alli England 2017-18Getty Images

England vs Nigeria team news: Dele, Lingard & Sterling all start

Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling and Jesse Lingard have all been given the nod to start England's first World Cup warm-up match against Nigeria, with captain Harry Kane leading the line.

Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is also selected, while it appears Gareth Southgate will deploy a back three comprising of Kyle Walker, Gary Cahill and John Stones.

Sterling has found himself the subject of various back-page headlines after his gun tattoo, that he explained was a tribute to his late father, was spotted in England training.

Article continues below

The winger also attracted negative attention for arriving late to join England's training camp due to a mix-up with his flights, although Southgate explained he had already received an apology.

He has been picked to start at Wembley, however, along with Manchester United midfielder Lingard, while Eric Dier will take up a role in front of the back four.

Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young, meanwhile, are selected in the wing-back positions as they are given a chance to impress, with the Three Lions' first World Cup game against Tunisia just over two weeks away.

Nigeria, meanwhile, have named a starting XI that includes former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, while Arsenal winger Alex Iwobi and Chelsea's Victor Moses also feature.

Odion Ighalo, who played for Watford before making a switch to Changchun Yatai in 2017, starts in attack, with Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho named on the bench.

Two other Leicester players, Wilfred Ndidi and Ahmed Musa, also failed to make the starting XI but are likely to be used at some point over the 90 minutes.

England starting XI: Pickford, Trippier, Walker, Stones, Cahill, Young, Dier, Dele, Sterling, Lingard, Kane.

Nigeria starting XI: Uzoho, Idowu, Ekong, Balogun, Onazi, Mikel, Obi, Shehu, Moses, Iwobi, Ighalo.

Advertisement