England manager Gareth Southgate set to experiment against Lithuania with Jack Butland replacing Joe Hart
- Jack Butland will replace Joe Hart in goal when England take on Lithuania
- Gareth Southgate will ring in the changes after qualifying for the World Cup
- Southgate says it is important that England learn to entertain as well as to win
Gareth Southgate promised to be bold and experiment when England take on Lithuania in their last World Cup qualifying match of the campaign on Sunday.
The England manager will keep a core of the team in place but will make changes following the disappointing performance in the 1-0 win over Slovenia which secured qualification.
With Jack Butland starting in front of Joe Hart, Southgate said: ‘I think it's definitely a game we want to learn things from. We had an objective to qualify, we had a plan in our mind, what we thought the best route would be and also in the summer we were very clear in our mind how wanted to evolve.
England manager Gareth Southgate says the game against Lithuania is a chance to experiment
‘We've got an extra game to do that now which is a great opportunity to look at a couple of things. We want to learn thing from the game and don't want to waste that opportunity.
'For sure we'll make changes but want to get the balance right get the balance right. This is a game where we want to give strong performance and win. Equally it's a good chance to learn things about certain people.'
Jack Butland will be one of a number of changes when England take on Lithuania in Vilnius
Joe Hart impressed against Slovenia but will be given a chance to rest on Sunday evening
And he insisted that he wanted an England team that did more than just qualify but one that will entertain as well.
‘The desire is to do both,’ he said. ‘It is a results business but the way I want to play is to entertain as well. We weren't able the other night. No-one was more disappointed with performance than me.
‘The minimum is you want to win, the minimum for us was to get to a World Cup finals. The average age, around 25, is one of the youngest of the big teams around Europe. It was last year and I think we've got younger. But while we do that we have to keep winning.’
Most watched Sport videos
- The Rock begins MMA training camp ahead of filming 'Smashing Machine'
- Lando Norris shows off trophy on TikTok celebrating his first F1 win
- Brendan Fevola's daughter reveals he still plays footy in the park
- Dad or Ronaldo? World Snooker Champ Wilson's kids keep him humble
- Drew Bledsoe makes THAT Gisele joke during Tom Brady roast
- Boy dies after being hit in the groin with a ball during cricket
- Dana White's bizarre rant against Netflix during Tom Brady roast
- Mbappe asked whether he will support Real Madrid tomorrow
- Crystal Palace manager reacts to strong win over Man Utd
- 'I did not enjoy today': Moyes rues West Ham defeat to Chelsea
- Liverpool manager reflects on winning game against Tottenham
- Boy aged 10 dies after freak cricket accident