England beat Nigeria 2-1 in a friendly on Saturday that provided some clues as to how coach Gareth Southgate will line up his still experimental side when the World Cup gets underway in two weeks’ time. First-half goals from Gary Cahill and captain Harry Kane helped England to victory at Wembley Stadium in their penultimate warm-up match before taking on Tunisia, Panama and Belgium in Group G in Russia.
The Africans, who also head to Russia later this month, pulled a goal back shortly after the break through Alex Iwobi but only fleetingly threatened the hosts for much of the game. Southgate has yet to settle on his preferred starting team and fielded Jesse Lingard alongside fellow attacking midfielder Dele Alli on Saturday, providing England with pace and creativity that led to a string of first-half chances.