Follow England vs Hungary with our live blog on Sky Sports website and app on Tuesday and watch free match highlights soon after full time; kick-off 7.45pm
Tuesday 12 October 2021 09:21, UK
England can take another significant step towards next year's World Cup in Qatar when they face Hungary at Wembley on Tuesday evening.
Gareth Southgate's side sit four points clear of second-placed Albania in Group I following their 5-0 win away to Andorra on Saturday and another victory back at Wembley would put them on the brink of qualification.
England will have to wait until the November international break to be certain of their place at next year's tournament regardless of results on Tuesday, but the momentum is with them following another strong qualification campaign.
There is not much to be gleaned from a meeting with a side ranked 156th in the world but the win over Andorra did at least allow Phil Foden to make his case for a starting berth in central midfield.
The 21-year-old has been used primarily on the flanks by both Pep Guardiola and Southgate since his senior breakthrough for club and country but his future has long been seen in midfield and his performance against Andorra offered a glimpse of why.
Foden was the outstanding performer at Andorra's National Stadium, his deeper role allowing him to dictate the game and show off his excellent passing range as he repeatedly sent England forward on the attack.
Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane likened him to legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady - "he's just picking people out… he's making it look so easy," he said - while Southgate was similarly impressed.
"It's fabulously exciting, isn't it?" said the England boss afterwards. "When you are trying to break down a defence as we were tonight, and you've got a player who can see the passes he sees and can execute them in the way that he did."
The question now is whether Foden's performance will persuade Southgate to give him another chance in central midfield against stronger opposition on Tuesday.
England's starting line-up is likely to look very different against Hungary but with Kalvin Philipps absent due to injury, there is an opening in the team alongside Declan Rice.
Southgate may opt for Jordan Henderson's experience instead but with Foden now developing physicality alongside his innate technical ability, it may not be long until the Manchester City star takes up a central role for England more frequently.
"He is getting stronger so it is exciting for us that one of those midfield positions might be a possibility," added Southgate.
Southgate insists John Stones is not at risk of losing his England place despite struggling for playing time with Manchester City.
Stones has not played a single minute for Guardiola's side this season but he has started three of England's last four games, including Saturday's win over Andorra, and Southgate does not have any concerns over his lack of action at club level.
"John, when he goes back [to City], will have many games," he said this week. "Everybody knows his quality so he will be in the team and I don't think that will be an issue going forward."
His early withdrawal against Andorra suggests Southgate wanted to keep him fresh for the Hungary game but with Harry Maguire unavailable due to a calf problem, the identity of his centre-back partner at Wembley remains to be seen.
Conor Coady will hope to keep his place following a tidy showing against Andorra but the Wolves man was rarely tested defensively and the same is true of Fikayo Tomori, who played the final half hour of that game, only his second for England, having replaced Stones.
That leaves Tyrone Mings as the most realistic option for Southgate. The Aston Villa man is left-footed, meaning he offers a different dimension to England's other centre-back options, and he has already built up considerable experience having won 14 international caps since his debut in 2019.
Another possibility for Southgate would be to switch to a back three but England have not used that system since their 2-0 win over Germany during Euro 2020. A defensive axis of Stones and Mings looks more likely.
Harry Kane is expected to return up front after Tammy Abraham was given the opportunity to impress against Andorra and there are numerous players vying for the positions either side of him.
Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling are perhaps the favourites to start having been named on the bench on Saturday but they are not the only ones in contention.
Bukayo Saka scored on his 20th birthday against Andorra last month and found the net against the same opponent on Saturday. The popular Arsenal winger continues to establish himself at international level having impressed on England's run to the final at Euro 2020.
The tournament ended in heartbreak for Saka, of course, his missed penalty proving decisive in the shootout defeat to Italy, but he has responded impressively to that setback and there were signs of recovery in Jadon Sancho's performance on Saturday too.
The former Borussia Dortmund winger has endured a difficult start to life at Manchester United following his £73m switch in the summer but he provided two assists against Andorra and there was praise from Southgate afterwards, the England boss asking for patience as he finds his feet at Old Trafford.
"For a young player to have such a big change in his life, new league, new club, different style of play, different training regime, back living in Manchester, moving house and everything that's involved in that, that's a lot to take in," he said.
"It's going to need time but he showed a lot of the qualities that he has [against Andorra] and I know that will come with the club as well."
Whether it's as a starter or from the bench, Sancho, like Saka, will hope to impress again against Hungary.
England need just two more wins to be sure of qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar following Saturday's 5-0 victory over Andorra.
Gareth Southgate's side are four points clear of second-placed Albania at the top of Group I after seven matches, with just three fixtures left to play.
England host fourth-placed Hungary on Tuesday night, but even if they win at Wembley and Albania lose at home to third-in-the-table Poland the same evening, that would not confirm the Three Lions' passage to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
England then finish their qualifying campaign by entertaining Albania on November 12 when three points would guarantee them top spot in the group, before travelling to bottom-of-the-table San Marino three days later.
However, with only top spot meaning qualification, there is still little margin for error - particularly given that reaching Qatar with a second-place finish is not straightforward.
England take on Hungary at Wembley on Tuesday October 12 (kick-off 7.45pm) and you can follow the game via our live minute-by-minute on both the Sky Sports app and website, with free match highlights also available on both platforms from 11pm.
The free-to-watch highlights will be available on the Sky Sports website and app, as well as the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel, from 11pm.
