Wednesday 6 June 2018 18:02, UK
England boss Gareth Southgate has warned his team against complacency and says places in his starting lineup for the first game of the World Cup are up for grabs.
There are 12 days until the team's first match in Russia against Tunisia but before that, England face Costa Rica in their final warm-up game at Elland Road on Thursday. Southgate confirmed Jack Butland will start in goal and Trent Alexander-Arnold will make his debut.
Following Saturday's 2-1 win over Nigeria, Southgate explained that his plan for the friendlies was to ensure everyone in the squad plays a significant part.
"From our point of view, [it is] a really good opportunity to see some more tactical things, to see certain players in certain roles," he said.
"There's definitely places up for grabs for the first game of the tournament."
Southgate expressed that form can have an impact on his plans, and urged his players to make the most of the time they are on the field.
"Any time a player - whether that's club or international - has 10 minutes on the field or 90 minutes on the field they have an opportunity to make a statement in the way that they play and the way they tactically embrace the game and carry out the roles they are expected to carry out.
"Always as a manager, you are looking at who you believe your better players are but then there is form, physical conditioning. So that always evolves.
"A football team is an ever-moving, living, breathing beast. The pecking order and the way people train and then the way they are within the group and their approach, everybody has to stay on their toes all the time.
"There's no room for complacency on any day's training, there's no room for slipping of standards.
"So I'm not sitting telling everybody two weeks before the start of the game that 'that's it, you're comfortable, you're in' because in my experience that's not a good way to get the most out of players."
